


In the Wings of the Misty Angel

by The_Mysterious_Guest



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Anakin and Kylo aren't related, Dark, Dark Past, Demons, F/M, Fallen Angels, Guardian Angels, I Tried, Kylo Ren and Ben Solo are two different person, Murder Mystery, Mystery, NaNoWriMo, Reylo NaNoWriMo 2017, Supernatural Elements, Temptation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-02-04 21:37:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 32,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12780015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Mysterious_Guest/pseuds/The_Mysterious_Guest
Summary: There are angels on earth just as there are demons walks among human. She wants to lived her life helping people, she tries to earns her hidden wings. But he's lurking in the dark, her shadow. No matter what, he will not let go. He calls to her, just as she awaited him.ReyloNaNoWri challenge by Underrated-ReyloSentence Prompt:Drowning almost felt like burning alive, or that’s what Rey imagined it was like that. She felt like there was this heat in her lungs, threatening to burn a hole through her as her lungs restricted. She could try and thrash through the waters but she’s so tired. She can’t.Songs References:Come Little Children (Hocus Pocus 1993)Gods & Monsters (Lana del Rey)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a submission for Underrated-Reylo November challenge, the Reylo NaNoWrit. A 50K one-short that I will be divided into chapters (It would be crazy to post the whole thing in one go lol)
> 
> Big Thank You to @Kyberstone on tumblr who will be the beta of this long story. 
> 
> **Sentence Prompt** : Drowning almost felt like burning alive, or that’s what Rey imagined it was like that. She felt like there was this heat in her lungs, threatening to burn a hole through her as her lungs restricted. She could try and thrash through the waters but she’s so tired. She can’t.
> 
>  **Songs References** : Come Little Children (Hocus Pocus 1993)  
> Gods & Monsters (Lana del Rey) 
> 
> I hope you guys will enjoys this, I tried my best XD

Drowning almost felt like burning alive, or that’s what Rey imagined it would like that. She felt like there was this heat in her lungs, threatening to burn a hole through her as her lungs restricted. She could try and thrash through the waters but she’s so tired. She can’t.

_‘Why did you hate me so?’_

A voice, echoed in this vast ocean.

A mask, a play, an act.

She feared, she struggled, she screamed.

In this world, her voice was taken by the aggressive waters as they invaded her lungs, choking her on the way.

She just wanted peace but the unknown specter would not let her go. She was scared of that voice; it felt like she did something so horrible that fate decided to punish her and the voice was her torturer.

_‘Why did you betray me?’_

The voice that haunted her ever since she could remember. The same warm tone filled with accusation.

The heavy pressure dragged her deeper and deeper to where the sun was not able to reached, deep, deep down to limbo where she could not escape. No, she wriggled in protest.

Let her stay in the light, not the unknown void.

Have mercy on her, release her from this unseen chain that bound her.

Senses slowly abandoned her, warmth retreated and only coldness remained.

She was falling.

Falling to the pit without end.

A pit of not fire but water.

Icy waters that drowning out her existence.

Dark water.

Vacant of life.

A sea of torn feathers.

Falling, falling, falling.

She was falling and there was no escape.

She had fallen too deep and this was her tomb.

The tomb that was meant for her.

That’s right.

It was for her.

Tired.

So tired.

Sleep.

Go to sleep.

She closed her eyes. Let herself succumb to the ocean depth.

_‘I loved you so. But do you love me?’_

And then, emptiness.

The darkness consumed her into its possessive embrace of no return.

“Wakey wakey, sleepyhead. No sleeping in for you today”

Rey felt something hard impacted with her body, and as her vision shaken. She opened her eyes to a binding light world.

In front of her were two men, the first with chocolate skin, black hair and bright kind eyes, he was wearing a simple navy-blue shirt and dark pants. While the other one had olive-skin and wildest brown curls. Mischievous shined in his twinkly eyes.

“Sachiel, Barakiel”

“Technically, you’re not wrong but I don’t think we go with that names now a day”, the pair laughed, “Even though, we still use those names for others, strangely enough”

“Now get a hold of yourself, sleepyhead”

“Wh…what…I…?!”, she felt so disoriented, her mind empty and spinning out of balance.

She breathed hard, taking in as much air as possible. It felt like she was suffocated moment ago.

“Breathe, Rey. Just slowly breath, in and out”, Sachiel gently patted her back, his voice soft and soothing.

Rey closed her eyes, concentrated solely on his voice as she did what he said.

Gradually, she was able to get a hold of herself, the fog had been cleared from her mind.

She blinked.

“Finn, Poe,” finally her memories returned from the depth, she called out.

“Hello there, sleepyhead”, smiled Poe, once he steps closer to her side.

“Nightmare?” Sachiel ,or Finn, asked, still lightly patting her back, calming her anxiety away.

“I don’t know. I don’t remember”

Her mind was a blank space for she was unable to recall what she saw or dreamt. Instincts only told her that whatever she experienced was highly uncomfortable.

Her eyes scanned around as if searching for something out of place, but no, she was simply sitting on her bed, inside her humble cream-colored apartment that had more books than furniture.

The small place that she called home was located near a beautiful huge public park where people tend to come for a walk in the morning and afternoon after work in the busy city. But this area is fairly peaceful and quiet, even the building that she stayed in, despite being fairly old but things still functioned perfectly fine.

Huh, nothing strange.

No hidden danger preparing to jump out of the bushes.

Nothing.

“That’s alright”, concluded Finn.

“Just let it fade away, let it slip away from your shoulders”

“By the way, I remember that I told you to rest early”, Poe looked unamused at her messy notebooks that lying around the bed, some even on the floor.

“Staying up till early morning is definitely not what I have in mind in term of staying healthy. You will work yourself to dead if you keep doing this”

“I just want to do as much research as possible”, retorted Rey while she gathered the scattered notes into a pile.

They included various symbols, different spells and a large amount of information about what human referred to as Angels.

No, not the conflicted information written by some anonymous person online, but legit accurate materials that was reserved for only a few.

“I mean while you guys know who you are, I’m not able to recall anything”

“I know, I know. But you are stressing yourself out, Rey”, frowned Finn, “Beside, it usually comes unexpected so you just can’t force it”

“Alright”, nodded Rey.

“You better or I will come by and check on you”, warned Poe, half-joking, “I swear if this continues, the next time we meet will be with you in the hospital for exhaustion and then Kenobi will have my head on a silver platter”

Finn and her both laughed at his dramatic exaggeration.

“Not Kenobi, no. He would more likely give you this long lecture on how to be a good friend and then he will let Skywalker & Amidala have our head as you put it”, Finn winked at the upset male.

“And you said that you’re my friend”, sneered Poe, “Already planning my demise, I see?”

“If anything, you brought it on yourself”, countered Finn, “Ever since the incident with Katie…”

“Okay, okay stop, we are not talking about Katie McArthur”, yelled Poe.

“You two are seriously having this banter right here?”, grimaced Rey, annoyed. 

Too noisy for morning activity.

“I just had a bad night, I would prefer pancakes and coffee over your teasing anytime”

“Oh, that hurt Rey, you don’t have to be so cranky”, mocked Poe at he put his hand over his heart, pretended to be deeply hurt, “How sad.”

“I’m agree with Rey though”, murmured Finn, “Pancakes and coffee sound heavenly”

“Well, then I know just a place”, Poe smile brightly, showing his neatly white teeth, “It’s on me”

“Good, I’m starving”, signed Finn, “Are you coming Rey?”

“Yes, just give me a moment”, Rey stood up from her bed, “I need to change my clothes”

“Sure, we will be waiting outside then”, Poe and Finn called out as the two walked out to her living room.

A sound of door open and shut, she could hear their muffle laughing just behind the closed door.

Rey head toward her closet to grasped something to wear, a shirt and a pair of ripped jeans, before heading to the bathroom for a quick refreshed.

She washed her face with the water before looking up a perfect copy of herself in the mirror, brown eyes stared at one another. She frowned.

Subconsciously, something doesn’t feel right, she sure of it.

There was this nagging sensation that pulling at the back of her mind subtly, she just could not put her finger to it.

She folded her hands together into a fist, no, no, she must be imagining stuffs again.

It was just a nightmare, Rey thought.

That was it, it was just a nightmare like Finn said.

Let it go, just let it go.

Rey let out a small laughed before looked up at herself again.

Brown eyes against dark.

She left the bath to joined her awaited friends’ moment later, shutting the door behind her as the light went out.

“Sorry for making you waiting, let’s go guys”, she greeted Finn and Poe with a smile on her face, 

“You are going to regret for volunteer to pays for the meal, Poe Dameron”

“Sure, we will be waiting outside then”, Poe and Finn called out as the two walked out to her living room.

A sound of door open and shut, she could hear their muffle laughing just behind the closed door.

Rey head toward her closet to grasped something to wear, a shirt and a pair of ripped jeans, before heading to the bathroom for a quick refreshed.

She washed her face with the water before looking up a perfect copy of herself in the mirror, brown eyes stared at one another. She frowned.

Subconsciously, something doesn’t feel right, she sure of it.

There was this nagging sensation that pulling at the back of her mind subtly, she just could not put her finger to it.

She folded her hands together into a fist, no, no, she must be imagining stuffs again.

It was just a nightmare, Rey thought.

That was it, it was just a nightmare like Finn said.

Let it go, just let it go.

Rey let out a small laughed before looked up at herself again.

Brown eyes against dark.

She left the bath to joined her awaited friends’ moment later, shutting the door behind her as the light went out.

“Sorry for making you waiting, let’s go guys”, she greeted Finn and Poe with a smile on her face, 

“You are going to regret for volunteer to pays for the meal, Poe Dameron”

_Yes, just let it go. Let go._

“I’m starving”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Human were so lucky, they lived their lives focused on what they considered to be important to them. They chased after frame and money. Ignorant to what lay beneath the surface.

It may sound crazy but the concept of Angels on Earth wasn’t mere empty words.

On the contrary, Angels does happen to be living on Earth, not all but at least some does anyway.

These special few were no different from a normal human being, they didn’t have huge white wings or shining halos seen in many arts and general beliefs.

What they had was knowledges that was forbidden to mortals and was as ancient as time itself.

Knowledges and powers that came from their heavenly hosts.

Angels made into flesh as some jokingly called themselves. Although formally, they were called Ángelos.

Some chose to stay immortal to watch over the fragile world, others decided to be reborn over and over again into countless life, experiencing the range of emotion along the way.

Some fall in love in one life, the next being burnt at the stake because they were falsely accused of involvement in sorcery.

They witnessed the best and the worst in humanity.

“Told you would regret it.”

She stared at the taller man, victory painted her features.

“You two acted like you had been starved for a week”, complained Poe, “How can you stomach that much food anyway?”

“You don’t want to know”, sang Finn.

“Figures”, whined Poe, “Next time, you two are paying for yourself”

“Don’t be so mean”, hummed Rey playfully.

“I will if that’ll save my financial problems”, opposed Poe as he slightly bumped into her.

The trio walked into a secluded private property just outside of the thriving city, an hour long drive to the northern side where still largely dominated with densely forest, and mountains. The formal garden that usually seen in some luxury estate was in its prime condition. From every plant, flowers, trees to the green grasses, they were all carefully taken care of.

The mansion proudly showcased it magnificent detailed Victoria’s designed as a testament against time. While many of them would scattered around the world with their own pretended life, this is one of the place for them to gathered as well as to serve as the year-round resident for those who chose not to went through lives.

“It’s good to be back home”, delighted Poe.

For the past five years, his job in the medical field left him in the constant business, accidents to terminal illnesses, all required his attention.

Finn had a hectic life of a college student, he made some friends throughout the years even if the majority of those friends were already within their circle.

For Rey, she enjoyed her career in engineering and mechanics. She liked fitting stuffs and the workshop ten minutes from her home. The people were friendly there, and the salary wasn't bad. Her workplace already had a good reputation among customers, so they didn't have to worry about the economic crisis.

“Eh, guys”, Finn suddenly called out warily, “There’s a body over there”

“Huh?!’, Poe and Rey stared at their friend for a second then turned toward the direction Finn was looking at.

Lying on the lawn just behind the apple tree, was a body of what appeared to be a man, no older than twenty.

“Oh my god, could have Skywalker actually murdered someone?”, exclaimed Poe as an inside joke.

For an angel, the infamous Skywalker was dressed like a rebel, ripped clothes, skin tight jean and a leather jacket as part of his fashion statement, even if it made him stand out a lot. 

Though, it wasn’t far fetched from his personality, all angsty and mostly seriously scary.

They slowly walked toward the suspicious unconscious man, each on high alert for obvious reason. This was on private ground that means normal people with common sense would not just wandered in since most will just shrugged it off as some elite’s seasonal house and in case they did not have that good of a judgment or wanting to be reckless, the charms surrounding the area would prevented them from sneaking in. Just a simple case of amnesia that most would not even realize.

So, for them to have found this strange man lying here meant either that he was one of them or this was some kind of a trap.

The oblivious man had his back leaned against the tree, head looking down out cold with blood dripping from his blonde hair, skin pale white as a sheet yet he was still breathing.  
“How come no one noticed him?”, puzzled Poe as he kneeled down to started checking the man.

“He suffered from a hit to the head. Finn, Rey, help me carried him to the House. Seriously, are they all dead to not noticing a man lying in the front yard like this?”

Poe had his arms around the right side of the mysterious victim, Finn on the left. Rey quickly ran toward the door and frantically knocking.

Blue charms appeared on the door, signaling to the residences inside.

“Well hello there Rey, long time no see”, a charming man opened the door, his slightly wavy light brown hair combed to a side gave him a captivating appearance similar to male models on fashion magazine covers, his silver-blue eyes bright as the sun light under a pair of reading glasses and a new-grown beard on his chin gave him this mature look. The man wore a handmade turtleneck sweater, he had his hands fold around him.

He first strikes as a person with free spirit who would went on lots of adventures while also had this calming aura around him, fitting for an author, Rey thought. 

“Malahidael”, Rey greeted then quickly said, “There was an unconscious man lying just outside the yard”

The man shifted into a surprised expression

“What? That’s impossible”, he straightened, looking confused.

“Obi wan Kenobi, move aside, there is an injured man over here”, growled Poe as he walked in with the man on his side.

Obi wan completely baffled as he led them into the wide lough area and instructed to Poe and Finn to put the man on a nearby cough. Their little commotion gathered some attention from fellow habitation as they curiously looked at the newly arrived injured guest.

“The spells did not indicate anything weird happened so I didn’t notice”, mystified Obi wan,  
“I spent the whole morning in my personal study”

“It’s okay, not your fault”, with a snap of his fingers, Finn conjured up a medical supplies box, “Now we need to fix him up and then maybe he will tell us who and why he’s here, hopefully”

“Right, right”, he wholeheartedly agreed. Obi Wan and Poe moved to clean the blood away with white cloths, then used their power to heal the wound. Thankfully it wasn’t deep enough to cause any physical harm.

“Let him rest”, Obi Wan levitated the young man upstairs to one of the spare room, “It will be a while until he is able to regain consciousness. In the meantime, I’ll be looking for reason why the barrier did not activate properly”

“Do you think…he may be one of us?”, Rey curiously gazed at the sleeping man on the bed; his wavy curls around his face reminded her of those images of cute innocent cherubs depicted in art works.

“Possibly”, remarked Obi Wan thoughtfully. “But I can’t be sure…until he awakes”

“He might just regain his memories and on the way to us before he got attacked”, suggested Finn, “I mean, the awakening process is so simple, either you keep your memories since birth or you suddenly remember one day”

“As I said, it could be, but to be sure we have to wait”, sighed Obi wan, “If not, we just need to come up with an excuse and let him go”

“Or wipe his memories”, added Poe, “But since he was hit to the head, I doubt we’ll have to do much”

“That for extreme cases only”, reminded Finn with a pointed glared, “We don’t go around wiping peoples’ minds.”

“Just an opinion”, Poe calmly said with a shrugged of his shoulders as if he was talking about the weather instead.

“By the way, I heard that Camael would return tomorrow?”

Obi Wan immediately relaxed, his eyes twinkled, “Yes, he just called Ambriel last night to let her know that he would be returning from his tour across country. I’m impressed with your intel, Dameron”

“Hamaliel told me, you know how close they are, Ambriel and Hamaliel.”

“Ah yes”, snorted Obi Wan., “Too bad Ambriel was out today, by now she’s probably busy with all of the paperworks she has to deal with. Senator Padme Amidala has a nice ring to it though”

“So…Camael and Ambriel?”, asked Rey curiously. Since they were just a part of the original angels, except for some magical powers they could considered to be not so different from the rest of the world, so romance was not forbidden.

“It’s normal actually”, Poe explained with a small smile, “They’ve been pining for each other for some time, and in many lives that they crossed”

“Besides, we are not the ones that resigned in heaven or anything. We stayed and laid here on Earth, two thirds mortal, one third angelic being. So, they are just Anakin and Padme, normal lovers”, Obi Wan serenely explained.

“That’s actually romantic”, acknowledged Rey. “For them to be together for so long like that”

“Don’t”, groaned Poe. “Anakin is already rubbing his greatest love story at our face”

“You’re just jealous that you don’t have a stable relationship, Poe”, teased Finn.

“I heard we had a guest”, a tan-skinned woman entered a room. She was wearing a crop top with tight leggings, her white hair tied into a braid. She also had a pair of striking blue eyes; a pale scar ran across her neck.

Hamaliel, born Ahsoka Tano, she was among those who lucky enough to be born with intact memories of who she was, but was cursed with deeply religious parents who truly believed their daughter to be possessed. So, in one of their hysteric episodes, the pair tried to rid her of the devil by using a wire to choke the nine-year-old girl.

Ahsoka fought back and in a split second lost control over her powers at its lashed out in retaliation. The husband and wife were badly hurt physically but much worse, their minds were totally decimated. After the incident, Hamaliel ran away and she had been staying here ever since.

“We are”, confirmed Obi Wan, “I would need your assistance later on, Hamaliel. Apparently, the barrier doesn't work hence why we did not notice him”

“Interesting”, hummed Hamaliel as she scanned over the bedded man, “He’s not the enemy, is he?”

Just as angels stayed on this mortal realm, demons or those who carried the souls of the fallen also walked the Earth seeking to wreaked havoc as they pleased.

Ever since the war in Heaven, both sides were on this constant struggle over balance. One fought to preserve it, the other to destroy it.

There were generally two types of demons. One class of demons were called weaklings. They came in different sizes, some was giants while others travel in packs of dwarf-like creatures. Their appearance included horns, wings and tails. In short, Weakling were what human usually think about when they described devils.

The others were more tricky and riskier to defeat. They were called Deimos, and were fallen from grace. After the fall, they either reigned in the depths of Hell, or donned a human skin to exist in the physical world, where they secretly corrupted mankind. They were dying beings ever since their fall from grace, suffering from instantiated hungers that can never be satisfied. No matter how many human souls they consume, these beings were cursed to be in eternal agony.

“Nothing conclusive. But unlikely since if he came with bad intentions, he would not have been able to cross the protective barrier around the place”, Obi Wan said.

“Still, I will investigate just to make sure,” Hamaliel dryly remarked, “There were reports of an increase in some low life demon activities within the city. We cannot let our guard down”

Rey immediately picked up on the sudden change in the atmosphere as serious expressions flashed through Poe, Finn, and Obi Wan's faces.

It was strange to learn that those weaklings were acting so boldly recently while the elder, stronger demons went quiet worldwide. This grew a large level of concern among their circles.

“We will see what we can do”, Finn stepped forward, “Jophiel said she was onto some possible leads that could shed some light on the situation”

“Good”, Hamaliel nodded, “But in the meantime, I want you all to be careful. I don't want any unnecessary casualties.”

“Of course,” Poe and Finn wholeheartedly agreed.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
But a sacrifice had already been made. Just two hours later, news travelled fast.

Bad news.

What Hamaliel discovered in an abandoned house was truly horrifying. Rey wasn't there at the same, but Poe was, and his tale was grim.

A murder, was what he called.

An act of a monster.

Body of Muriel was found lying on the basement of the house, drained of blood. Her body suffered from wounds that showed that she was tortured before her death. And in her chest, a gaping dark stab hole that burnt the surrounding flesh. Her red hair was dirty and dry as straws, her neck was littered with bruises and cuts. 

The old basement was painted with her blood.

Not red but gold.

The blood of an angel.

The ultimate mocking insult.

Fear fixed on her face, as if her last moments were an absolute nightmare.

It was speculated that she might had been fighting her attackers at first but then she was stabbed in the chest. The wound didn't kill her, and so she was taken to this place. And then she was taken to this place.

To suffer.

A handwritten letter was found inside her mouth, neatly folded and written in elegant black ink. The letter was a macabre symphony of a distorted mind.

Each word, each sentence from the paper brought anxiety closer to her heart, as if winter had arrived in the midst of summer. They chased away the warm bright sun and replaced it with the deadly blackness of ice and snow.

_I can see them in my dreams._

_The dying heart laid below the earth, supposed to die and yet its rhythm still sang loudly in my ears, my mind. The heart, my gift to HIM and He had accepted in in the depth of Sheol. True beauty, only when I see them screaming beneath me as my hands choked the life out of their body so that their life could be more useful in depth. Or else, they would just be a disgusting, mindless beings. Let them become a part of me, let their souls trapped in this heart till the end of time and then their flesh will be my flesh. Their blood will be my own. I am granting them a chance to become something far greater than their filthy-self. I am helping them to changes, to become a masterpiece._

_Forever bind to me just as I wanted to. All of their screams and agonies will be music to my ears, to only serves me as their one true master just as I pleaded loyal to my MASTER. They will always be here, inside me, always be a part of me. Even if their voices slowly fade away to the realm of Morpheus as my mind return from the daydream to this mundane little world._

Yours Angel of Death  
O Ángelos Tou Thanátou 

“Monster”, Hamaliel cursed through her teeth while Obi Wan finished reading the letter. His face was deeply tormented knowing the poor fate befall Muriel in the hands of the killer. He mourned for the loss of innocent life.

In his memories, Muriel would forever remain as the strong red hair girl that full with life, the burning summer sun. Unforgettable and irreplaceable. 

She was killed by a special knife, the weapon to killed angles, it burned their soul, destroyed the link shared by the heaven and themselves. Seized their existence into nothingness.

Finn silently wept for their friend, Rey and Poe by his side. Each offered their comforted while grieving inside as well.

This was a tragic.

A heinous act of a twisted individual. 

Muriel.

Poor Muriel.

“I swear on my life that I will find the one responsible for her death and murder them myself”, cried Hamaliel.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this shorter than expected but see you guys next times.
> 
> All comments & kudos are welcome XD
> 
> My tumblr : SylviaSnow89

By the end of day, the trio were on the verge of exhaustion, even if they were all stronger and more durable than the majority of people, there were still limits on their mortal bodies.

Since there was no point to hanging around the House, Poe left for work. Since Finn had a day off, he decided to went with Rey to the workshop. They simply went on with their lives even though they harbored a deeper connection to the hidden world underneath the surface of civilization.

Tried to hide their heavy hearts.

Tried to hide their sorrows.

As usual, Poe stopped to picked up Finn and Rey at the end of day where the sun painted the blue sky with the bright reddish hue. He brought with him take-out foods from the Italian restaurant nearby the hospital where he worked.

“I could have walk back to my home, it’s not that far you know Poe”, Rey got out of his new car before thanking him for the drive, “I’m a hundred percent sure that you live in the opposite direction from here”

“This is what friend are for”, waved Poe dismissively, “I will have to drop Finn at him dorm anyway so why not take you instead”  
Since the discovery of the poor Muriel, Poe had been on edge.

“That’s not an excuse”, complained Rey, pouting while Finn giggled in the passenger seat.

“You got me”, Poe put his hands in the air, defeated. He leaned closer, voice low in almost a whisper, “I should not tell you this but there were some reports about shapeshifters and second-class demons around this area two weeks ago. Be careful”

“What?!’, her breath stopped, she stood there, looking at, “Now you tell me?”

Poe whined, he hated to be the bad guy in these kind of scenario, “Sorry, but Hamaliel and Obi Wan did not want to scare you. Besides it could be just a coincidence.”

“I could had gone out and looked for myself”, groaned Rey which caused Poe and Finn to stare at her with disapproval in their eyes.

“No way, it’s dangerous for you to put yourself in such a position”, grunted Finn, “Your recklessness could have caused serious consequences “

“See, see why I don’t want to tell you straightforward? Because I know you were likely to dive headfirst into the whole mess”

“But I’m better at tracking, you two know that”, responded Rey, “I’m tougher than I appear to be”

“There’s no doubt about that but…”, Poe suddenly bolted out of his car in a dash and ran for the entrance to Rey’s apartment.

“What’s just happened?” Finn turned off the car engines as he jumped out from his side, making eyes contact with an equally dumbfounded Rey.

“Beat me”, signed Rey, “We better followed him”

The pair ran through the stairs to the third floor, fully prepared for the worst possible situation only to see Poe standing right outside her door, looking down at a rectangular black velvet box in his hand.

“Why did you dash out like that?”, Finn asked once he walked closer to his companion.

“I thought I felt this strange sensation, it’s hard to describe. It seemed like I was familiar with it, but not familiar with it at the same time.”, Poe answered without breaking his focus on the expensive box that far out of place.

“What’s in that thing?”, Rey concentrated on the object, her heart speeding up inside her chest.

It didn't thump from a sense of excitement, but instead trembled in fear with a wave of dread crashing down on her.

“It was put outside your door”, his hazel eyes found her as he extended the box toward Rey, his face void of any kind of expression.

“Is this safe?”, Finn protested as Rey took the box without much hesitation. His worry was largely ignored by them though.

With the long box nested in her palms, Rey studied the exterior of the gift carefully. Nothing special stood out to her beside the fact that it was costly and that she wasn’t dating anyone at the moment.

This could be a trap, her mind rationalized as she was reminded of those thriller movies where the spies or detectives were poisoned by a needle coming from an unidentified package send to them through the mail.

This could might as well be the case, some demons had tried to assassinate her. They had not yet managed to connect with her heavenly host, and therefore were not really a threat with just a poisoned needle. Therefore not really a threat, with some poisoned needle.

Her heart on the other hand, seemed frozen cold in fear.

“I don’t like this at all”, cried Finn as he looked between Poe, Rey and then to the box she was holding, “It’s giving me the creeps”

“It’s alright, Finn”, reassured Rey, “I got this.”

Slowly, she opened the box, bracing for the worst, only to find a single blooming golden rose placed neatly inside.

Not what she expected.

She was ready to be faced with the poison or even cursed objects or something along that line.

“Huh”, Finn was total flabbergasted upon seeing the flower. He quickly peeked up at Poe to check his opinion but since the man's neutral expression remained on his face, Finn returned to Rey.

“Got yourself a secret admirer there, Rey? Is it real gold?”

“No, looked like it was painted on the rose”, she examined the flower closely, hoping for some clues to no avail.

“This…could explain what I felt earlier but”, drawled Poe slowly, “Whoever they are, they left quickly enough to not get caught…”

“Maybe the person is shy?”, supplied Finn, “Or do you have any other theories, Poe?”

For seconds, the hazel eyes flashed brightly, clearly indicated that Poe was, for some reason, on edge as if he was threatened.

“I just don’t know if this person is either Ángelos or Deimos. Genuine or Deception. Even if I recognized their aura, I just don’t know if I should trust them or not”

“You worry too much, Poe”, chuckled Rey, holding the rose close to her chest, “A golden rose? That would be weird, wouldn’t it?”

“Yeah, why would a Deimos go as far as to leave her a flower?”, queried Finn, “I don’t think they would be able to know our human forms. Unlike Camael and Ambriel, we are not facing them directly, so it would be very unlikely that one of the Deimos would know about Rey.”

“But it’s abnormal that this would occur two weeks after weaklings was reported to be around here”, mumbled Poe, still not at eased, “And now…one of our friend had…”

“It could be a coincidence though”, retorted Rey, “We just found a man this morning inside the garden of the House so there’s that”

“Obi Wan said he would call us once the man wakes up”, issued Poe with a sigh. “The sooner the better”

“Lots of things happened today Poe”, comforted Finn with a supportive smile, “We might be overthinking right now. So why don’t we just rest today and wait to see if this secret admire will show up again?”

Poe contemplated the idea for a moment before he nodded, “Sounds good, fine”, then he turned toward Rey.

“You be careful, alright? Call me immediately if something happens”

“Sure”, signaled Rey with a thumbs up, “I’ll tell you if something happens”

“Good night, Rey”, called Finn as he pushed a reluctant Poe away, “Let me remind you that you left your car unattended down there Poe”

“Good night, Rey”

“Night-night, guys” waved Rey, watching her friends leave.

That night once she went to sleep, Rey placed the golden rose on her bed frame with a small smile etched on her face.

Satisfied, she let dreams wash over her.

Free falling from the clear crystal blue sky into the field of golden roses below.

_In the land of gods and monsters._

_I was an angel._

_Living in the garden of evil._


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Beta reader:** Kyperstone

“What do you mean?” This is not how she imagined her day would play out when she woke up this morning and went to work.

She loved to talked to her clients about trivial stuff in their life while fixing their cars. It brought her a little solitude, especially after what happened. It was good to take your mind off the things that bother you the most for a while. She was in the middle of work in her second shift, just passed noon.

And then Poe marched straight in her boss’s office for half an hour before walked out toward her. Thankfully others employees had used to her friends enough to not caring but instead minding their own business.

“Camael know our mystery man”, was the first thing he said to her.

“What do you mean? How?”, Rey said, shocked, as she finished up her preparation on the piece of engine.

“Obi Wan called him last night and after Camael heard the description he said that before he hung up,” Poe awkwardly said.

“That’s why the barrier didn't react; that man is one of us. He poses no threat”

“But how are Camael and this man linked?", asked Rey.

“Well, why don’t we continue this conversation somewhere else?” drawled Poe as he darted his eyes around, “I better leave it to Camael to explain the whole ordeal. He’s on his way back right now.”

“I’m at work,” protested Rey.

“Not anymore.I’ve put a spell on him.”

“You what!?” Rey’s eyes grew double in size. 

“It’s actually easier than I thought,” shrugged Poe.

“You mind control my boss, Poe,” Rey groaned in low tone, trying to avoid unwanted attention.

“In my defense, this is necessary”

“Fine”, defeatedly signed Rey, “Lead the way”

Camael truly had this bad boy vibe around him; though his wavy blonde hair was messy, it fit his boyish charms. He was wearing sunglasses over his sky-blue eyes, with his black leather jacket over a white shirt and tight ripped jeans.

“Where is he?”, Camael asked just as he arrived at the House. Obi Wan, Rey, Hamaliel, Ambriel, Poe and Finn were already waiting in the living room area.

“Good to see you again, Anakin”, greeted Hamaliel, unamused with the stunned revelation he made last night.

“Hamaliel”, acknowledged Anakin, showing his signature attractive smile.

“Now, Anakin, would you mind telling us how you know this young man?”, Obi Wan stood up to greet his friend.

“He’s my twin”, deadpanned Anakin.

“Huh”, there was a collective gasp from everyone. Disbelief filled the air as people just looked at one another.

“He’s Azrael, my twin”, Anakin clarified, “I’m sure of it. I don’t know how, but I just knew it”

“Now how is he?”

“He’s resting in one of the rooms,” Padme welcomed him with a light kiss on the cheek, “Let’s go see him.”

They all went to the third floor together with Obi Wan leading the way, Anakin, Padme and Hamaliel followed closely behind.

Is the mysterious unconscious man that they found really Azrael? She wondered.

What if Anakin mistook him for his twin?

What if the man just happened to look exactly the same as one of their fellow kin?

Then doubt filled her mind as Rey questioned herself.

But what if he is really Azrael? Then what?

Find the culprit who assaulted an angel?

How would Anakin feel after being reunited with his long-lost twin brother after all this time?

“I’m scared”, Anakin stopped right in front of the door where his supposed brother was staying in, “What if it’s not Azrael? What if I’m wrong?”

“It doesn’t matter Ani,” Padme soothed him, “No matter what, we will continue to look for him I, promise”

“But it had been so long. So long after the last time I saw him. Sometimes, I feared that he had, somehow, ceased to exist. It’s scared me but there were times when I tried to accept that in order to move on…and now…knowing there’s a slight possibility that he’s right there behind this door…I…”

“It’s alright, it’s alright. You’re just overwhelmed”, Padme calmly weaved their fingers together. “Even if this young man is Azrael or someone else. I promise you we will never stop looking”

“Are you ready, Anakin”, asked Obi Wan with his hand on the handle, patiently waiting.

Anakin did not respond right away, instead he stood still without uttered a word, just breathing in and out. No one dared to disturb him, for they all knew how important this was for Anakin, his brother who thought to be long gone is in fact alive. Padme never let go of his hand; she was his rock, a place for him to lean on in such vulnerable time.

“I’m ready”, after some time, Anakin finally stepped forward bravely to stand side by side with Obi Wan. Padme was with him all the way.

The door gradually opened, not wanting to cause the person who rested inside any fear.

The man was still peacefully drifting in the dream world as they all settled in.

Anakin shaken violently as he fought to kept his emotions and tears in check. His face drained of its color, white as sheet as if he was seeing a ghost. Maybe to Anakin, the man on that bed over there could had been considered a ghost by him many times in the past after he spend time and time looking for a person that not existed.

And now to see him physically here, it was hard for Anakin with his mixed of emotions.

“It’s him”, his voice broken as he tried to shallowed the cries back down his throat, “It’s him. My god, it really is him”

“It’s Azrael”

Obi Wan had his hand on Anakin’s shoulder to supported his friend. Finally, Anakin could have his happy ending.

“Oh Ani”, whispered Padme, “You found him, you found him. You fulfilled your promise”

“God, it’s Azrael.” By this point, Anakin no longer able to contain himself. Tears streamed down from his blue eyes, down to his face and fell onto the floor, “I found him, I found Azrael”

“Yes, yes, you did it”, Padme and Obi Wan both embraced the trembling man into their arms. Hamaliel, who had been quiet the whole time, joined the trio in the group hug. Just like the relationship between Rey, Poe and Finn, the four of them had been friends, companions for a long time, in every lifetime, and maybe the bonds that tied them together as a group was far stronger than that of Rey’s to her own pals.

“Ah”, Finn let out a loud gasp, effectively pulling everyone from the touching scene before them.

“I saw him move.”

All eyes focused on the sleeping man as he slowly twitched his fingers, then his eyes. No one breathed, as if afraid that he was just a figment of their imagination.

But as the man opened his eyes, everyone was finally able to believe that this was real. His eyes were perfect mirrors to Anakin's. Though they were duller due to exhaustion, they were the same unmistakable shade of brilliant blue. A collective relief washed over the room.

Anakin opened and closed his lips as if he couldn’t speak or didn’t know what to said. Instead he stood there, staring at the young man.

“Hello”, the man sat up, his voice small and soft. He turned his face to confronted them properly, he still looked like needing a little more rest but overall seem healthy enough. His lips broke into a small smile.

“Camael, brother”.

Anakin hitched, his shaking legs with hesitation and careful steps carried him toward the lying man. Once he reaches the bedside, Anakin kneeled down, looking eyes to eyes with the curly blonde hair man.

“I thought I would never be able to see you again, brother”, Azrael smiled, the same smile that etched inside his brother’s mind.

“Me too”, Anakin pulled his brother into a fiercely tight hug, as if afraid he would disappear again if he let go, “Me too.”

“I searched and searched. I wanted to give up, but I couldn't. Now I've found you, I finally found you."

Azrael returned his brother’s hug.

“I’m here now, brother. I’m here now”

“Do you remember what happened to you, Azrael?”

Hamaliel asked this once they had sit comfortably around the bed, Padme apparated some couches from thin air for everyone.

Anakin opted to sit on the bed to be close to his twin.

“It was blurry, I don’t know how much information I can recall”, Azrael had a hand on his forehead as he concentrated.

“You don’t have to push yourself,” stopped Obi Wan, “Let start with something easy first.”

“What is your name?”

“Azrael.”

“Sorry, I meant your human born name.”

“Ben,” Azrael said, “Ben Solo, son of Han and Leia Organa. I'm the only child”

“How old are you, Ben?” continued Obi Wan, ever so understanding.

“I just turned twenty-three this November. I moved out recently”

“What is the last thing you remember?”

Ben stifled, his face paler than it already was, his lips trembling. This worried Anakin greatly; he reached for Azrael’s hand.

“Something wrong?” Hamaliel bent forward from where she was sitting.

“I was attacked on my way home”, exclaimed Ben steadily, with horror tinting his face, “I was ambushed by a group of three people. They wanted my life, but instead this allowed me to regain my power."

He carried on, “It seemed that my attackers pledged allegiance to one of the Deimos.”

“What do you mean by that, Azrael?”, acquired Hamaliel further.

“Those who assaulted me were Angelos." Blue eyes gazed at her, still like an undisturbed autumn lake.

“They may still look normal, but they are changing on the inside to Deimos themselves. They were the ones who murdered Muriel. She managed to send me here”

He put his free hand on the nearest wall. Red light came from the palm of his hand before images began to appear. These images were from the point of view of a fainting Azrael. The images were blurry, but it was easy to see the red hair belonging to Muriel as she fought a group of people in masks and cloaks.

At first, she had the upper hand with her combat skills, as the cloaked group of three struggled to block the blows she was throwing at them. 

But a mere second distraction caused her to pay the ultimate price as an assaulter stabbed her with the sharp knife. Straight to her chest.

The weapon that was made to hurt people like them.

The knife to kill angels.

They disappeared and left her bleeding out, screaming.

Dismay and disgust was clear on the face of each and every member as they contemplated with what Ben’s revelation meant. There were traitors among their midst, a collective group who betrayed their own kind.

Such fallen.

Such disgrace.

Hamaliel was outraged and Anakin equally fuming, their eyes madly glowing like predators.

“Would you be able to recognize them?” Poe was barely hide his anger, while those who were naturally level-headed like Obi Wan, Padme and Finn were just quietly listening and thinking, like real strategists.

Sadly, I don’t think I could,” Ben shook his head, “It’s kinda blurry…their faces. All I remember now are shadows.”

“That’s okay. You don’t need to feel bad,” assured Poe. “We will find these traitors.”

“I have no doubt about that,” smiled Ben.

“We will,” vowed Anakin darkly.

“Why don’t we let Ben take a rest, after all he just woke up”, suggested Padme.

“Right, right”, Obi Wan corresponded with the idea. “I don’t think we all need to be here”

“Anakin, why don’t you stay here, I bet you two have a lot to catch up”, Padme patted his back, comforting, “I will see you later. And it’s good to see you well Azrael.”

“And I you, Ambriel,” Ben greeted her, “It’s good to see my brother finally step up his game”

“Me too”, Padme laughed, “He waited long enough.”

“Shut up, you two,” a flush Anakin growled.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
“I can’t believe someone would actually do such thing,” Finn quivered as he stared at the cup of hot caramel coffee in his hand.

“Just wait until I get my hands on those bastards,” snarled Poe angrily. “How dare they?”

“Pretty sure that Anakin and Hamaliel would love to be the first ones on the list of punishing those people,” purred Rey into her favorite vanilla latte. “You aren’t the only one Poe”

“I don’t care, those traitors will be dead meat by the time I’m finished,” barked Poe. Just the mere thought of mentioning those unnamed traitors made his blood boil.  
“How dare they!”

“Be calm Poe,” Fin advised with a strange gaze in his eyes, “We will solve this puzzle eventually. Obi Wan and Hamaliel will inform us once they learn something new.”

“Finn is right. I know this is upsetting news but you can’t just sit here cursing all day long,” added Rey.

“Right,” Poe suddenly slammed his palm down on the wooden table, causing her to jump. He stood up, fire burning in his eyes, “I will go with Hamaliel to look into the problem, the sooner the better it will be for the rest of us”

With that he determinedly marched out of the small coffee shop.

“You better go after him Finn. A hot-headed Poe isn’t always the best Poe. Someone needs to pull him back from making any crazy decisions,” Rey instructed as she drank down her latte.

Finn finished his before nodding, “You’re right, I better go. See you then Rey. Take care.”

“I will.”

Finn followed the way out of the shop before disappeared into a deep end where she knew he would be safe to teleport away without being caught by mortals.

Alone, Rey sat there, waiting.

“After all those years, Ángelos and Deimos were never able to find a common ground again.”

A man of Asian descent sat down on the seat opposite to her. His black hair was flipped back, showing off his handsome face. His age was around early twenties, and he had a pair of dark purple that, with a closer look, seemed to reveal a whole galaxy in his irises. He wore a designer black tuxedo that was worth more than anything else in this coffee shop combined.

“After all those years, that would be impossible,” Rey smirked, “You, of all people should know that, even if you didn't side with him and if he had a completely different agenda for the rebellion."

“Again with your attempt to sway me? Heaven means nothing to me now, Earth is where I belong”, the black-haired man declared, “I cut off my wings once, I would gladly do it again if that mean I’m able to stay here.”

“Even if that would mean abandoning your place," hummed Rey. “Was it worth it”

“Yes,” the man responded while staring at her impassively.

“Kokabiel, prince angel of stars. The angel who rule over constellations. Yet you abandoned your title for a mortal. Without hesitation you cut off your glorious wings of thousand-star dusts that sparkles in the night”

“It was all worth it”, the man proud laugh, “Kokabiel no longer exists; I ceased associating myself with that name the moment I destroyed my wings. I’m now simply Astraeus Sterling, just a man. And that’s all I need.”

“You could have returned to our side, Malahidael would love to see you again,” grimaced Rey, “He don’t say it out loud but sometimes I caught him to looking up the night sky. He even has an astrology room”

The fallen angel just laughed, though his features softened, “I can assure you that Malahidael is already aware of my answer. This is for the best. While I don't share the ideology of causing havoc with some of our former siblings, I won't have any ties to Heaven."

“But you are his twin,” hissed Rey, “Twin angels hold their siblings closest to their hearts, more than anyone else. Camael almost had a break down when he found Azrael.”  
“Ah, so Azrael has returned,” smirked Astraeus, “Good for them.”

“How can you act like nothing matters to you?” accused Rey with a heated stare.

“Malahidael knows about my existence; he knows that I’m alive and he knows that I don’t want to meet him. This is the war that I vowed not to get involved in. Ángelos or Deimos, their hands are soaked in the blood of their own kin.”

He chose to turn his back on his siblings so that he wouldn't have to kill anyone else. She pitied him

“She’s just a mortal,” lamented Rey. She felt torn looking at the man before her. Somewhere in there, he still lingered on this small hope that this broken family would somehow be returned to the beginning.

“Yet she’s my destiny”

“She will die.”

“And I will keep waiting for her to return, just as I’ve been doing so far.” Others would have called him insane but Rey knew better, Astraeus had made his decision.

A decision that brought him peace.

She never admitted this for how could a man who was no longer an angel but not quite a devil have such serenity in his eyes? But the moment he came to the orphan to take her to Obi Wan in honor of the woman he loved.

She realized, Astraeus had found his own heaven in that mortal soul.

“In a way, you inherited her fire”, he said, “She's a stubborn little thing. Brilliant yes but so stubborn when she sets her mind on something. She would finish it no matter what. My beautiful sunshine” 

“You must hate me for being the cause of her death,” Rey commented.

“No,” Astraeus frowned as he looked at her seriously, “Never believe that, your mother loved you more than anything. She was pregnant with you when she escaped your abusive father. I found her when she had nowhere to go, yet she would not give up, even when that bastard took you away and then left you in that orphanage. She never stopped looking, to the end she was the fighter. 

“I could not bring myself to hate you because I loved her so much. To hate the one being that was on her mind and heart til her last breath, I would not dishonor her legacy like that."

“How about my father then?” Rey asked, “What happened to him?”

“There was no love lost there, I can tell you that”, a cruel smile creeped on his face, “I made that alcoholic suffer a fate worse than death.”

“Good to know,” Rey spoke chillingly as she leaned back into her seat. “Why are you here anyway?”

“I come to warn you about something.”

“Are you now? What's it?” asked Rey curiously, eyes shined with high interest.

“There are rumors among the underground and it's not pleasant”, Rey had the urge to compliment him. The fallen angel knew how to hide his thinking just like his brother. Obi Wan was collective and unreadable all the time, but was still able to keep his friendliness. Astraeus on the other end, was a total mystery. Rey was never able to decipher what was going on in his head.

Every move was unpredictable and calculated, he was an enigma just like how the stars held billions of hidden stories that they were not willing to share.

“They are talking about a newly arrived guest from the hottest depths below, seemed like they have quite a reputation for themselves and huge admirers.”  
“And who was this celebrity?” inquired Rey, mildly invested to the development of the story.  
“Don't know, the identity of this exclusive guest was not disclosed. But the Deimos are all swooning after them and and you might know now why the weaklings ran amok."

“Also, I think that there's something you would like to know” 

What he said next made her blood freeze inside her veins. Rey imagined she must have looked ridiculous at that moment with her eyes dilated and her mouth hanging open while facing an unchanging Astraeus.

“Apparently, this new arrival is the one who was responsible for the murder of one of your fellow angels, Muriel, I presume. What a shame, she was a dear friend.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Goosebumps ran along her body from head to toe.

“I want you to take care of yourself,” Astraeus stood up and said “I’m afraid a storm is brewing. You're having a demonic murderer running around so I advise you to watch your back and know who you can trust,” before turning to leave without much of a goodbye.

That night when she returned to her home, another black velvet box was already at her door and in there was another gorgeously painted gold rose, identical to the first. Again, there wasn't any kind of note or signature.

Just a very beautiful flower.

Admittedly, after the talks from Azrael and Astraeus, she was a little spooked. The news that a murderous Deimos was at large scared her.

But what was the chances of her being the target? She had nothing special.

She just wanted to live her life.

But what harm could come from a gift?

A gold rose at that.

She put the roses together on the bedpost, looking at the two flowers for a while thinking.

Maybe this was a mistake.

Maybe she should talk to Obi Wan, or Poe, or Hamaliel about this. But what if it was actually from a secret admirer? The idea was weird since she considered herself to be average, but the attention was not unwelcome.

In fact, she felt flattered.

She felt special.

_You are._

These were just flowers, people sent flowers all the time. So why should she be worried?

Not many knew about her existence anyway so how could she be the target?

Why chose to hurt her when there were many more important people with a bigger impact?

She was no one.

_Yes, that’s it. Accept it._

With that, she let the night dominate over her dreams.

_Screwed up, scared, doing anything that I needed._

_Shining like a fiery beacon._


	4. Chapter 4

Since then, every night there would be a golden rose, in the same faultless velvet box right at her door.

Now, she had a vase full of them right beside her bed. It was the last thing she saw before falling into her dream of an ocean and it was the first thing she saw in the morning when she woke up.

A new joy in her dull life.

That was what she expected day by day. For the night to dominate the sky so the she could indirectly meet with the owner behind this gift. It was like a game between two people who had yet to meet.

Somehow, those roses brought joy and peace to her soul.

Sweet, intoxication caressed.

_For you._

This was what she waiting for.

A new purpose, an inspiration for her to go on with her life. The golden roses blended into the golden sun that watched over her.

Life was suddenly sweeter.

Was suddenly brighter.

Was suddenly beautiful.

_Let yourself drink on my sugary honey._

“Wow, Rey what’s happened?” Poe and Finn picked up on the rapid changes in her, “You are booming with sunshine and rainbows.”

“It’s nothing”, a flush as pink as a rose petal decorated her face.

“Now, now spill the secret,” Finn nudged her elbow teasingly.

“Nothing.”

“Spoilsport,” Finn resorted to a tickle war, “Give up thee secret?”

“No, never,” she bellowed in a fist of giggles, “Stop it!”

“Is it the roses?” Poe gave his two cents in the matter. It was a wild guess in his case, but it was not wrong.

Finn perked up at this, his face lit up with mischievous joy. 

“Oh, you are so going to tell us all about this”, he smiled at her, “Do you know who’s behind it yet?”

Well, there was no escape from this conversation now. 

Just go with it then.

“Well, no,” Rey slowly said. “Whoever it is leaves a rose for me every night.”

“That’s called devotion,” Finn praised. “And lot of romantic interest to pull through that. I’m expecting a dramatic revelation”

“But what if it was an ugly person?”, Poe chimed in.

“There’s nothing wrong with a person’s appearance,” Finn and Rey scolded him. “What matters is the beauty within.”

“You two and your obsession with Disney,” Poe rolled his eyes.

“And you love us for that,” the two friends teamed up with smiles big on their faces. 

“You are outnumbered Barakiel,” a young man walked up to Poe buried under his friends. He had light brown hair and green eyes the shade of emeralds. The boy had mischief on his young boyish face.

He joined in with Finn and Rey on their mission to bury Poe under a pile of hugs.

“Saniel,” Poe called out from beneath the weight of people above him, annoyed and amused intermingled in his voice.

“Get off me!”

“No,” the three answered in unity.

“Meanies,” he grumbled.

“What’s a lovely sight” All four of them looked up to see an amused Obi Wan and Anakin walking toward them, Azrael at their side, looking much better than the last time Rey saw him.

“Obi Wan, Anakin”, Finn was the one who got up and ran toward them, “Azrael, how are you?”

“I’m a lot better, thank you. Camael took turns with Raphael to shoved medicine down my throat.” Anakin glanced at an innocent-looking Anakin, “For all I remember, I was only suffering from a hit to the head, not some kind of severe illness.”

“Tell that to Raphael,” huffed Anakin, “We only want to be cautious, you don’t know what you might have.”

“It was a lot of medicine I had to drink, dear older brother”, Azrael mumbled. “A lot of it for a mere head injury.”

“Those two are bickering already, eh?” Saniel, the young man joined them and allowed Poe to have his freedom.

“Yes, they have been at each other’s throats since Raphael declared that Azrael is well enough to start walking again,” Obi Wan winked at them. 

“Charming,” the young man laughed before walking over the two brothers, “It’s nice to meet you, Azrael. I’m Saniel or otherwise Adam Simmons.”

Azrael shook his hand, “Pleasure is all mine, Saniel. If I may, you look young”

“I supposed an eighteen-year-old ought to be young,” Saniel joked. 

“Right, silly me.”

Anakin gave his best authority glare at Saniel, “Now why are you here instead of at school, young man?”

“I skipped?” Saniel smirked.

“What?!”, Anakin's eyes almost doubled in size. He was about to enter full-on lecture mode when Saniel cut in.

“Kidding, It’s a faculty meeting day. No class for me. Also, you aren't that much older than me in this life Camael."

Anakin groaned, “Twenty-five, and I’m an adult. You’re an adolescent”

“Just think about it, two lives ago I was the Master and you were the boy,” Saniel pulled his best sad face, “What a shame. Too bad, so sad”

“Got a problem with that, young man?” Anakin leered, smiling ear to ear.

“Malahidael, he bullied me. Camael is a big bad meanie”, Saniel used his puppy eyes and kitten pouted.

This caused everyone else to laugh, no one was ever able to resist that sad begging face. 

“How are you going to be a lawyer with this kind of attitude, anyway?", Anakin scolded.

“My cunning charisma”, Saniel glinted, his eyes glittered with tricks.

“Figures,” Obi Wan purred. By now he was already used to this little beam of sunlight, “That’s the spirit, Adam.”

“I know, right?” The young boy was like a container of excitement. He grabbed Azrael’s arm, “I’m stealing your brother, Camael. Come, come, I’ll show you the fun stuff”

Saniel then ran off with Azrael, which Anakin highly disagreed with. “Saniel, return my brother. He’s still considered to be injured. Don’t make me call Padme. Saniel!!! Come back”

“No way!”

“Here we go again,” Poe whistled upon the sight of an adult chasing a sniggering teenager who was holding another adult.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Let me embrace you._

_Let me sing to you._

_Let me bathe you in my burning light._

_I was the brightest star in the whole sky, even the sun and moon were jealous of me._

_And for that, they abandoned me. ___

__Again, she was drowning. The water felt familiar as it filled her lungs one more. Burning like a hot iron._ _

__Binding her with its shackles._ _

__Pulling her down, while the voice sang to her in the most beautiful voice she ever heard. Loud and clearer than the harps, but stronger and might than thunder._ _

_Put my golden roses on your head_

_The starry crown, for you to wear._

____In every time, she was farther and farther from the light, from the surface above._ _ _ _

____Why did this happen to her?_ _ _ _

____Always, the same dream, the same voice._ _ _ _

____But each time, it felt like she was losing herself, piece by piece._ _ _ _

____The further she falls, the more caged she was._ _ _ _

____Her light faded._ _ _ _

_My, my, you are even more beautiful than I remember._

_When you were in my arms, my grace, my embrace._

_You’d bloom into a perfect canvas._

____The pair of hands grabbed her delicate neck from behind, and hauled her down while choking her._ _ _ _

____Instinct told her to resist, so she struggled. Thrashed and kicked._ _ _ _

____Fought and wriggled._ _ _ _

____Even if there was only a slim chance, she still had to fight back._ _ _ _

____In the deepest blackness, there was still hope._ _ _ _

____Hope._ _ _ _

____Hope and despair._ _ _ _

____Despair._ _ _ _

____Despair._ _ _ _

_And temptation._

_My domain._

_Just accept it. ___

______Why her?_ _ _ _ _ _

______The water burned and weighed her down. Gold blended with the darkness in the battle for dominance._ _ _ _ _ _

______And she was caught in between the two sides._ _ _ _ _ _

_Not yet._


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edit by Kyberstone

“What do you mean he’s missing?” Rey never knew that Anakin could yell that loud. She wasn't even by the front door, but she could already hear his voice.

Clear as day.

Whatever was going on in there, Anakin was not happy.

“Why can’t we have a peaceful day where nothing crazy happens?” Rey murmured to herself, annoyed.

They were loud.

Anakin already screaming his heart out and was bursting everyone else’s eardrums by now.

And she about to head in there, why did she agree to come here anyway? She was already on a tight schedule due to her work. Rey even made Poe swear to her that he would not charmspeak her boss if it was not an emergency situation.

When she was much younger, she often thought about how her life would be if she was just born a mortal. Would her life be less complicated? Would it be more boring? Would she fall in love? Get marriage? Have a family?  
Family sounded nice.

She always wanted to have her own family someday, if that was even possible.

Since she didn't have any memories of her past lives, Rey couldn't compare them to her life now. This life where she was born as an orphan, she had a dead mother who was the reincarnation of someone else's lover, and had a deadbeat father that she never knew.

Even if it was just for one short life, she still wanted to experience the perfect family concept that people talked about.

Someday.

_No_

“What’s the matter? I can hear you screaming from five feet away, Anakin.” Without knocking, she walked right into a warzone.

It was quite comical actually.

An angry Anakin trashed the place while no one tried to stop him, instead watching like an audience.

Most of the couches and desks were upside down; some were thrown and smashed. Poe, Finn, Padme, Azrael, Hamaliel and Obi Wan shared the last couch that was still safe from the outburst, with their faces glued to Anakin’s back.

There were other people who looking down from the stairs above, too afraid to come down.  
Every single one of them had a different range of emotions on their faces. Poe looked distressed over the current mess. He would be the first one Obi Wan would ask to help clean up all the wood pieces scattered on the floor. He dreaded that upcoming event.

Finn was patting his back in sympathy while wincing every time another piece of furniture was destroyed. The noise caused him to jump from his seat several times.

Azrael eyed the destruction rather than looking at the one who was causing it.

The only reactions that were noticeable were Obi Wan, Padme, and Hamaliel's.

In fact, they seemed to be unfazed by the whole demolition that was happening. Padme looked more concerned for Anakin and extremely sad; her eyes had a hint of red color as if she color as if she had been crying. She sat in the middle of a blank faced Hamaliel and an upset Obi Wan.

She sneaked up to them, careful not to step on all the hazardous objects on the floor. Rey quickly shielded herself behind the group of people, peeking over from the space between Hamaliel and Finn.

“What’s wrong with Anakin? He’s going to destroy the whole living room.”

“Let him be”, Poe said, “Otherwise I'm afraid he's going to literally explode”

“Okay, explain,” inquired Rey. “What caused him to be this…angry?”

“Saniel is missing”, Padme softly explained. “He’s been missing for the past three days but we just received the news. Apparently, he failed to show up to class on Wednesday and the day after that. His mother is freaking out, they contacted the police and everything.”

“I am not looking forward when his father hears this news”, Poe sunk further down at the couch.

“Are we sure that this was not some kind of crazy joke?”, Rey could not, she refused to believe that someone as young as Saniel with a whole life ahead of him would just disappear.

“No,” Poe’s unnerved expression did not help her rising panic.

This could explain Anakin’s behavior right now. On a different day, Rey would have gladly joined him in this breakdown.

It also needed to be mentioned that Saniel’s father was Anakin’s former master, the one who trained him in melee combat and swords. Once Saniel’s father knew about this, he was not going to be happy.

His reaction might be even worse than Anakin's.

“And we just found out now?”, Rey looked scandalous. “How. Could. This. Happen?”

“It’s somewhat my fault, actually”, a new voice joined in.

A middle-aged man walked in from the back room. He was stocky build, taller and bigger than Rey, and had a brown-gray hairline, a square face with sun-kissed skin, and dark eyes. He was wearing a sheriff uniform, seemingly not at all bothered by all the chaos around him. 

Rey was actually surprised to see him here.

He rarely came by the House; his reputation as the beloved sheriff of the city put him in the public eye more than the others, except for Padme. 

He was dubbed as The Teddy Bear Sheriff by the local children of the nearby hospital where he once visited. And after that the nickname just sticks.

So, he decided that it only made sense to not get involved with instances of disappearing to undisclosed places. It was hard to explain and bad for his reputation.

Sablo.

It had been awhile since she had last seen him in person.

“I did not get a notice about the missing case of Adam Simmons until last night. It appears that my employee did not know about the fact that Adam is Saniel, one of our kind.”

“Pathetic,” Anakin roared as he turned back, his eyes flared with fire.

“Now, now, he is still inexperienced. I cannot hold it against him,” Sablo remained passive.

At this, Anakin just scoffed at the sheriff, “And now you have a missing case of an eighteen-year old. He’s one of us. I swear if anything happened to him. I’m holding you responsible”

“Anakin,” Padme stood up from her seat. “You can’t be so radical. It’s not Sablo’s fault that he did not get the information in time.”

“He’s the head of the bloody police! One third of them are our people, how on earth did they not recognized Saniel?”

“That what I am trying to found out”, Sablo steadily said, “It’s strange that he claimed that he was not able to distinguish Adam at first. According to him, Adam did not look like the person he also known as Saniel”

“What are you trying to imply here, Sablo?”, Anakin stood face to face with him.

“I believe that my employee was under a spell.”

“Ridiculous”, Anakin immediately scoffed at the idea.

However, this idea grabbed the attention of Padme, Obi Wan, Hamaliel and surprisingly Azrael.

“What make you think that, Sablo?” Obi Wan rose from his seat, not minding the dirty floor. He casually stepped toward his old friend.

“I looked into his mind. This man didn't have any memories from before he was assigned to the case”, Sablo explained, he had a hint of dismayed by his stiff posture, “Everything was blank, there was nothing whatsoever”

Padme held up his right hand into her for a while before turned to Obi Wan and Anakin to voiced her opinion.

“Ani, he’s telling the truth”

This only able to calm part of Anakin as he grumbled meaningless words in his mouth, arms folded as he frowned.

Someone had the information on the whereabouts of the young Saniel.

Someone was behind this.

And someone who dared to interfere with the investigation, investigation tried to keep this under wraps for as long as possible.

They went as far as to tamper with someone's mind and memories.

A meticulous plan.

Obi Wan placed a hand on Anakin’s shoulder to keep him in check. Gave him a quick glimpse, then turned his focus back to the others.

“And your thoughts on the matter, Padme?”, he asked, grimacing.

No one dared to speak; everyone had already come up with their own theory of what had happened to Saniel, but many continued to hope that they would be proven wrong.

Eyes exchanged glances, but no one wanted to be the one to translate their worst-case scenario into words.

Even those who were just standing there on the balcony had ideas floating among themselves.

Rey did not enjoy the pending tension. 

It was causing her to felt claustrophobic in suffocating air, exactly like the sensation when she was surrounded by the oppressive water.

All seeking to break her body and soul.

Finally Hamaliel decided to break the ice.

“There could be a possibility that...now, I’m sure that no one here likes this notion, but we can't rule out that he could be the one who kidnapped Saniel and was responsible for Muriel's death."

There, she just said it. The invisible weight hanging on everyone’s thoughts. And truly, it was not the most pleasant idea.

Muriel’s loss was still visually fresh in each of their minds. Each had personally known her, spent year after year with her. They were emotionally attached to the innovative woman, and it caused even more pain in the end.

The stage in which she was found broke the hearts of many. People from different branches either within the nation or abroad, all sent their sincere regards.

Now, to think that Saniel could have suffered the same fate was unimaginable, too fathomable to be true.

Yet, it was what they all begrudgingly came to the conclusion.

This was definitely planned.

Whoever did this had been scheming about it before the incident even happened.

The mind sweep was done purposely to prolong the period of time between the kidnapping and the time when they received the news.

That meant there was more time for the perpetrator to do as he pleased. More time to destroy all possible leads. 

Anakin staggered, almost falling over himself. If not for the way Obi-Wan quickly held onto him, Anakin would have fallen into the rubble he created during the outburst.

Within seconds, he went limp. Too shocked to think straight. Eyes brimming with unsheathed tears. Padme placed her hand to his face and Anakin soon fell asleep.

“This will help him a little bit”, Padme mused. “At least for a short period of time, his mind can take a break. Maybe he'll be calmer when he wakes up."

“Let me carry him to your room,” Obi-Wan offered. “You could look after him after that. I trust that he will need you the most.”

“Of course.” They headed to the staircase where others quickly made way for them to move forward. 

No one dared to utter a sound.

Most were distressed with the grim possibility ahead.

The rest of the group watched as they left, turmoil stirring in their stomachs. This was something distasteful to swallow.

“I pray that what we fear will not come true”, Finn said as he began to reconstruct all the damaged furniture with his magic. 

Pieces of wood and glass rejoined with one another little by little. They quickly returned to their original forms. The ones they were before they became the victims of Anakin.

“Me too,” Poe aided him, mindlessly waving his arms around as the objects slid back to their positions. 

“I can’t believe this,” Rey sat down at the nearest seat, resting her hands on her face. Azrael sat down next to her, draping his arms around her shoulders, “I don’t want to even think...this is not real. Saniel was just a boy.”

“He did offer to show me some cool tricks and tell me hilarious stories about Camael,” Azrael purred. “Too bad that I was only be able to spend a day with him. He would have gone far.”

“I know this is hard to believe, but so far it’s the most logical thing we can muster up at the moment,” Hamaliel solemnly stated.

“Why couldn't this be a prank? I wish Saniel would jump out from his hiding spot to laugh at us. I would prefer that scenario over this one”, Rey mumbled into her palms.

Her heart sank, feeling heavy.

Darkness prevailed over her.

_Hmm_

Sablo gently put his large palm on her long brown hair, “Sorry Little One, this was all my fault, if I had been more aware of the situation then we could have saved Saniel by now”

“There’s nothing we can do now since it’s already happened. Now, we need to find him before...something bad occurs to him”

“I will do my best, I promise.” Sablo vowed, his voice deep and warm. This brought her back to her childhood when she was under the care of Obi-Wan. Sablo used to visit a lot more back then and each time he was willing to play the knight along with Obi-Wan to her princess.

And at the end of day, he always promised to come back the next day. That same tone, that same warmness yet it didn’t able to soothed her grief. 

“And…who will go to tell his father?”, Poe ran his fingers through his hairline. “You all saw how Anakin reacted. Now just imagine his father going full berserk”

“To be honest, I have chills just thinking about it.”

Poe shuddered as he spoke. How could they tell someone that their firstborn was missing and was presumably dead? How could they?

Sablo and Hamaliel shared a pitiful look, eyes sobered and serious. Hamaliel may not have fully understood the pain, but as a parent, Sablo identified with the pain Ariel was going through.

He would turn the world upside down if anything happened to his two little angels, whom he swore to protect the moment he held them in his arms.

Nothing in the world was worth more than his children.

He would lay down his life for them if needed. 

Saniel.

He had known that boy since he was still a little babe who would cry in his mother’s arms. The bright eyed child that loved to throw pranks on the people he considered to be a part of his family. The child who dared to dream big.

So much potential. 

Padme even considered him to be her protégé, which was proof of how capable Saniel could be if this hadn’t happened.

“But why him? Why did it have to be Saniel?” Finn whined. He and Poe had mostly changed everything back to normal, except some miniature details that could be fixed later. By then the whole place would look nothing like the previous warzone.

“I’m afraid that he may have been targeted,” Hamaliel theorized, “If we are facing the same person who killed Muriel, then Saniel would have been an easy target.”

“After all, he’s young, a high school student. I doubt even Saniel himself would have thought there would be a day when something bad happened on him”

“I hate to admit this but I have to agree with what Hamaliel said here,” Sablo exhaled. “Saniel is a carefree person, there is no reason why he should have been on high alert. He went to school then walked back home nearby or just teleported himself here. On paper, nothing should have gone wrong with that.”

“On paper”, Poe moaned, “If anything has the potential to go wrong, it will.”

“Anyway, who will be the one to deliver this news to his father?” Azrael spoke up, searching for their reactions.

The group heaved a collective groan before Hamaliel stepped forward.

“I will,” Hamaliel had her hand up in the air. “I will tell Peniel about this”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edit by Kyberstone

That night, Rey held the new rose close to her chest as she just sat there by the window overlooking the park. There were only a few street lights placed along the windy sidewalk cutting through the park in twists and turns.

The city that never sleeps was so far away that the light emitted by it only lit up the sky near the horizon.

She wondered what was happening to Saniel now.

Is he safe?

Is he scared?

_Why you have to worry so much about such fragile life?_

_It’s not worth it for you to worry over._

_Only me._

If they somehow found him, would Saniel still be alive?

Rey wondered. 

She already missed his mischievous smile, the sparkles in his eyes. It made her felt like she just lost a brother.

If Saniel was her brother, shouldn’t she have the responsibility to protect him?  
And yet, this felt like she just failed him.

Failed herself.

Ease your mind, sweetheart.

What she willing to give in order to find Saniel. 

Knock, knock, knock.

Rey jumped down from where she was sitting to walk to the door. On her way out, she left the rose on the nearby table.

Who would come here at time like this?

Poe?

Finn?

Or someone else?

What if it was the one who kidnapped Saniel?

The one who murdered Muriel?

Rey stopped dead in her track as the thought crossed her mind. She was inside her apartment. Alone. 

If something happened to her, how would Poe or Finn would ever know?

They might be here in the morning or stop by her work. But by then, Rey feared that it would be too late for her.

Knock, knock, knock.

The sound persisted.

And so, Rey creeped toward the wooden locked door. She used to feel safe with it, but not now. Now she terrified. 

Rey looked through the peephole while bracing herself for an attack.

She will not go down without a fight.

Only to be greeted by a mob of wavy brown hair.

For a second, how she wished it belonged to Saniel instead.

That when she opened this door, that cheeky boy would be standing in front of her.

But no.

“Padme?!” Rey opened her door to the lady with a sad expression on her face. “What are you doing here?”

Padme Amidala, dressed in a black coat with a hood to cover her face, quickly walked in as Rey opened the door. “Hello Rey”

“Does Obi Wan or Anakin know you’re here?” Rey was baffled by this sudden visit. “Why are you here?”

“I want to talk.” Rey led her to her humble living room, where a small couch and a second-hand table was placed.

“And Anakin is still sleeping, I asked Obi Wan to took care of him before going to here. Don’t you worry”

“Do you want anything to drink?”, Rey awkwardly looked around, unsure what she should do. After all, she was in a sleeveless old shirt and shorts while Padme was elegantly dressed. 

 

“Tea or something else? Well, it’s late at night; there’s no reason to drink tea…no, silly me.”

“It’s fine, Rey”, Padme smiled at her, “I was just wondering…”

“Yes?” Rey stood there dumbfounded.

“I’m planning to go visit Ariel tomorrow. I was wondering if you want to come with me? I will be here at eight in the morning tomorrow.”

“I…sure…. yes, I would love to”, Re nodded, as she sat down, “How is Ariel anyway? I imagine it would be hard for her…you know.”

“According to Sablo, she was crying a lot when he came visited her”, Padme said, holding her hands together in a prayer. “He went there after he left the House. Ariel has fainted a couple of times ever since she noticed her son was missing.”

“Little Rachiel, his little sister has been asking for her brother and it only makes things harder for Ariel.” Padme cried a little bit, taking out a handkerchief to wipe her tears.

“Has Peniel heard about this yet?”, Rey curiously asked.

“He did. And he was furious,” Padme confirmed. “He even interrogated Hamaliel through the phone, he was yelling every single time.”

“Wow, and Hamaliel was able to deal with that? If it was Poe, I’m sure he would have passed out from fear the minute Peniel started talking”

Padme and Rey both chuckled at the statement, it was a common knowledge that Poe had an innate fear of Peniel from the first time they met. Since then, Poe had been tried to avoid the man as much as possible.

The few times that Peniel had stopped by, Poe would make himself scarce, not daring to show up in the House until Poe was sure that Peniel and his team had left.

“Peniel said he would return once he has dealt with his current mission in Europe”, Padme continued once the giggles ceased.

“Of course, Saniel is his son. Peniel would like to have an explanation about how this could happen,” Rey shivered. 

“He has every right to be angry,” Padme breathed. “He trusted us to keep his family safe and sound. Yet we let this happen.”

“Do we know who is behind this?” If what Kokabiel said was real, then Rey afraid that this was no ordinary demon or a mere killer.

Padme inhaled sharply, her eyes dilated. “Yes.”

Rey was agape, she returned her gaze to stare at Padme.

“There were reports by our intelligence about abnormal activities by the Demos. A mysterious figure has risen within their ranks and is believed to roam this very area. We have been trying to identify this figure to no avail. Even most of the demons did not have the chance to meet him.”

So Kokabiel was right.

A storm is brewing.

Danger was coming.

“I should go.” Padme stood up and headed for the door, “Sorry for taking up so much of your time, Rey.”

“No, don’t worry about that Padme,” Rey followed her, checking on the clock hanging on the wall. It was almost eleven. “Are you sure you want to head out this late?”

“My guards are waiting outside, not to worry”, Padme smile at her, “Take care of yourself Rey. Remember to lock the door once I leave.”

“Sure,” Rey nodded. “I promise”

Padme had almost walked out the door when she turned back, the smile still present on her lips.

“That’s a beautiful flower you have there, Rey.”

Rey stopped to think about what she was saying when she remembered about the golden rose on the table. 

Oh, that.

“Yes, it was…a gift,” Rey admitted.

“It’s a lovely gift then,” approved Padme. “The color iss gorgeous, it reminds me of the same shade of our blood. Ichor.”

“Isn’t it a little bit weird to compare it to blood?” Rey arched her brows.

“It might be but it’s the only thing I could think of,” Padme shrugged, “Anyway, good night Rey.”

“Good night to you too. Be safe.”

With that, Rey closed the door and locked it carefully. 

She returned to the flower and carried it to her bedroom, where she put the flower in the vase containing the other golden roses. 

Rey free fell onto the soft mattress and closed her eyes, folding into the darkness around her.

The darkness that reached out and covered her in a cocoon. Released and protected her.

Unveiled the deepest thoughts inside her heart.

The darkness that allowed her to be true to herself.

It was a relief. A great relief.

Rey let her imagination wander, from the clouds above to the depths of the sea.   
For once, the feeling of drowning did not bother her. The water may burn. But around her are thousands of images.

A sea of memories.

There was laughter and there were tears.

There were the good times and the bad.

There was happiness and sorrow.

There was excitement and boredom. 

And then the transparent images of the brown haired boys, eyes green as the forest at dawn smiling at her manifest in midair.

As she was falling down, he was rising up.

He was smiling but his eyes showed the opposite emotion. 

Saniel.

He opened his mouth but no words came out. No sounds. No sentences.

Rey reached her hand toward the specter and he did the same but it was as if there was a barrier separating them.

Come back, she thought.

Saniel, come back.

The boy smiled at her but shook his head anyway.

Why?

Saniel was about to attempt to talk with her again but he stopped. His eyes turned to something behind her that she could not see.

His expression quickly became fearful.

He tried to reach for her again as if trying to pull her out with him.

But again, the force came back. This time even stronger than before, it pushed him upward while pulling her down harshly. 

A pair of hands snaked around her waist, dragging her down despite Saniel trying his best to swim back for her.

_Put your hands on my waist, do it softly._

_Me and God we don’t get along, so now I sing._

He was frantic but he kept floating upward. 

Fear rose in her. 

No, Saniel come back.

Come back.

Don’t leave.

She would give up everything for him to come back.

Please.

_Even your life?_


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beta-read by @Kyberstone

Rey bolted up from her bed.

She looked around the sun-filled bedroom in panic. The flowers glittered in the sunlight.

Her mind was a blank slate, her dream from last night was completely wiped from her mind. It was just an empty space.

Void of anything.

She could feel dried tears on her skin, and a pang of sadness within her heart.

But aside from that she had no recollection of what cause her to cry in her sleep.

Although, a part of her feel at ease. Relief.

As if she had been lifted, released from what had been previously caged her.

She checked her alarm clock.

The digital clock displayed seven o’clock in bright red.

She and Padme were going to visit Ariel today.

With that, Rey jumped off her bed and rushed to the bathroom. The water eased her, washed away all the leftover thought of the previous night without a trace.

Soon, the unsettling faded from her.

Rey decided to wear a dark green suit with long sleeves and black jeans. Something that she hoped would make her appear more mature, appropriate and formal enough.

She made herself a quick breakfast with eggs and a cup of milk, readying herself emotionally for the meeting with Ariel. To be honest, Rey did not know how to deal with this situation. Saniel’s disappearance hurt everyone, but Ariel hurt the most.

Not to mention, Saniel left behind a little three-year-old sister who would never be able to meet her brother ever again. In the future, Obi Wan or Ariel may tell her stories about Saniel but it couldn’t compare to meeting him in real life.

_Why bother with the weak?_

_You deserve much better._

The world would be less fun now without Saniel.

Exactly at eight, a black car stopped in front of her apartment. It was one of those expensive commercial cars from the television, all shiny and new. All of the car windows were tinted black so no one could see inside, providing privacy for the people inside. This captured the attention of some of the passerby as they marveled the car.

Even some of her curious neighbors poked their heads out from the windows below.

Rey raced down the stairs as fast as her legs could carry her. Once she was outside, a man dressed in a suit exited the car from the driver's side. He went around the car to open the door for her.

“Miss Rey, good day to you.” She recognized him. He was Padme’s personal driver.

“Thank you, Jeremiah,” she said before getting into the car.

Padme was seated on one side. She looked tired as if she hadn't gotten a proper rest last night. Bags had formed under her eyes.

“Morning to you Rey,” she looked at her.

“You looked terrible, Padme,” Rey said without even thinking. But once she caught herself, Rey flushed.

Padme looked amused.

“I’m sorry, that was just rude”

“No need to sorry when you are not wrong,” Padme smirked. “I was way worse in the morning; you should had seen me trying to deal with my swollen eyes”

“Did you have a bad night?” Rey frowned.

“Anakin had a nightmare all night long.” Padme rested her head against the seat as the car started to move. “He screamed a lot. Whenever he’s stressed, Anakin has nightmares. Obi Wan and I had look after him during his night terrors.”

“And I just cannot rest, knowing that Saniel is in danger.”

“Well, you should take a nap, Padme,” Rey spoke, concerned, “I will wake you when we arrive.”

“If you’re sure”, Padme hesitated said, not bothering to open her eyes. She was that tired.

“Sleep, Padme,” whispered Rey. “Sleep”

Padme heaved a sigh before her body relaxed; she dozed off into sleep quickly. Worry showed on her face, even in sleep she could not let go.

Rey pressed her head against the tinted window as the car passed by people on the sidewalk, houses, and streets.

A man looking down at his watch while holding a suitcase as he walked to work; perhaps he was running late. A baker with his freshly baked breads decorated cakes inside the pink shop. A mother held her children hand in hand walked to the nearby store.

Life went on.

_Boring_

Humans and their normal lives.

_Mundane._

Rey thought back to all the ideas of putting herself in the same exact situation like those people.

_Dull._

She could be a baker, or a florist, even a barista in a coffee shop. Just an ordinary life, without fear of the unknown.

Once you stared into the void, the void will stare back at you.

And like a spiderweb, you cannot escape.

_Why so sad, sweetheart?_

She closed her eyes, listening to the sound around her.

_Life was never fair._

Wondering when will she will be able to find peace. 

“Thank you for taking the time…to come here”, a distraught Ariel greeted them with a hot tea pot. She sat down on a lone sofa facing them.

Rey shifted in her seat.

Something felt out of place.

By the next time she had opened her eyes, they had arrived at their destination. Ariel worked as a kindergarten teacher because of her love of kids. She always tried assimilated to her life as much as possible, which was why she chose to live in a peaceful neighborhood in a four-bedroom house.

Ariel was the opposite of Peniel. While he was a person who was always looking for a fight and lived his life on the battlefield, she was the peacekeeper, the loving mother.

How Saniel ended up being their son with his cheeky characteristics was the great unanswered question.

Her heart hurt when thoughts about Saniel crossed her mind.

Jeremiah opened the door and gently woke her with a compassionate smile.

Rey sat up and before she even had the chances to wake Padme, she already opened her eyes in shock. As if her dream had woken her.

“We’re here”, Rey softly said.

Padme just looked at her concerned then nodded. She opened the door on her side and slipped out of the car.

Jeremiah parked right in front of Ariel’s house, ever since the disappearance of Saniel, she was too grief-stricken to be able to go to work. She fainted when she was at the kindergarten when Sablo called her and since then she decided to called for days off.

Only her younger daughter still goes to school for the last four days. Ariel would take her to school and then came get her in the afternoon.

When she opened the door for them, Rey did not saw the caring blonde she once knew, she was so disturbed, her eyes reddened from crying and her hair no longer had this shining in them.

Padme put her into a fierce hug.

“I’m so sorry, Ariel”

“It’s alright,” Ariel said in her broken voice, “Please come in”

Rey and Padme followed her inside, walking into the family living area. On the way, Rey caught a glimpse of Saniel’s abandoned room, everything was kept in the same place the last time he was there.

Ariel did not have the heart to disturbed anything; just seeing the unoccupied room was enough to make her want to cry her heart out.

A cold empty bedroom.

“I will go and make some tea,” she murmured, heading to the connected kitchen right behind a thin wall that acted as the separation between the living room and the cooking area.

“Ariel, you don’t have to…”, Padme tried to stop her, but Ariel cut her off.

“Don’t worry Ambriel, I want to do something...that will take my mind...off of things...temporarily, at least."

Ariel tried to smile but failed miserably.

“Anyway, please take a seat…while I make the tea”

Reluctantly, Padme and Rey sat down on the twin couch, they listened to the sound of Ariel walking around her kitchen and the sound of cups clinking together.

Later, Ariel finally returned with a tray of cookies and tea.

And that was how Rey found herself in this situation.

“Saniel returned from the House, he was so excited. Kept telling me about the meeting with Azrael and how pissed off Camael was,” Ariel told while holding her teacup. “And then the morning after, he said he was going to school”

“But when the school called me that afternoon, I realized that he never arrived."

“I’m so sorry Ariel, it must be hard for you,” Padme whispered, not able to bring herself to enjoy the steaming tea.

“I know he was a trickster, some might not be happy with his tricks but Saniel was good kid,” Ariel spoke, “At heart, he was a good kid. He was just a boy”

“I know, I know Ariel. We all miss him”

“No matter what, he is still my son and now he…he…”, her cup almost slipped out of her hand but Rey quickly caught it before the thing smashed.

“I got this, Ariel,” Rey put the cup onto the table.

“Thank you, Rey”

“You are welcome, Ariel,” Rey uttered.

“Now, I just don’t how to deal with the loss of him. It was like a piece of my heart was stolen and destroyed,” Ariel cried into her hands, “And how will I ever be able to explain to Rachiel when she gets older that her brother just went...missing. Taken by a killer.”

Padme kneeled down in front of her, “Ariel, you can’t be so negative. We don’t know yet if Saniel was really be taken by…our suspect. It’s just a theory.”

“Oh, Ambriel but I know. I know”, cried Ariel, “I saw him, I dreamt of him last night. I was at this valley where we used to go camping, the grass was so green. The flowers were blooming from where I was sitting, and then he came. Saniel come to me in a pure white suit, he was smiling at me. I tried to reach for him but I could not move, no matter how much I wanted to, then Saniel just hugged me.”

“It was more than just a dream, Ambriel,” Ariel clung to Padme’s arms, “He gone, oh, Ambriel. He’s gone. My son, he’s gone”

“Ariel”, Padme soothed the hysterical mother, “It’s alright, it’s alright”. She could not hold back her own tears.

“He’s gone,” Ariel broke down weeping.

A mother’s pain.

Rey frowned.

Something inside her broke as well.

The wound of those who were left behind.

The phone inside Padme’s purse vibrated, Rey looked at the thing and then at Padme for advice.

“Take it,” she mouthed.

Rey reached into her purse and took out the vibrating phone. Obi Wan’s name was on the screen. She quickly excused herself, leaving Padme and a crying Ariel behind. Rey walked out the front door.

“Hello, Padme,” Obi Wan’s voice coming from the other side sounded tired.

“Hello Obi Wan, it’s me, Rey”

“Rey?”, surprised Obi Wan, “What are you doing with Padme’s phone?”

“She cannot answer right now,” Rey replied, “She is with Ariel.”

“I see, how is Ariel?”

“Bad, she is crying a lot. Padme is trying to calm her down.”

Obi Wan hummed, “I see.”

“Anyway, why did you call? Did something happen?” Rey asked.

“In fact, yes.” There was a silence moment before Obi Wan continued, “Peniel is back, tell her that.”

“I will.”

“Thank you, Rey.” With that, he ended the call.

Rey took a few seconds to take a deep breath. So Peniel had returned. When Padme said that he had to finish his assignment abroad, Rey thought it would have taken more time. Either Peniel found a way to complete the mission in record time, or he just got up and left, leaving everything behind.

Personally, Rey leaned more towards the first idea. Peniel wasn’t the type to abandon his unfinished jobs.

She returned back to the house, quickly returning to phone to its place.

“Rey, who was it?” Padme asked. Ariel was still crying in Padme's embrace.

“Obi Wan called,” Rey earnestly said. “Peniel’s back”

Padme stiffened, looking down at Ariel, who seemed sadder now that her husband had returned. Saniel was a carbon copy of Peniel, the only difference was that Saniel had gentler features inherited from her while Peniel was harsher from the years of fighting.

Rey helped both of them to stand up from the floor, Ariel still linked onto Padme for support.

“Let's go see him," breathed Padme, who took off her outer jacket to put it around Ariel.

“Yes,” she mumbled, without enough strength to walk straight without depending on Padme and Rey for support.

After locking the house carefully, Rey ran to the car where Padme helped Ariel to get in. Rey handed Ariel her house key, which she put it back in her pocket.

Once the three had settled inside the waiting car, Padme voiced her instructions.

“Jeremiah, take us home.”

And the car roared to life, headed back to their sanctuary.

Halfway there, Ariel drifted of to sleep. Padme let her rest on the seat and then turned to Rey. Padme was filled with grief as she whispered.

“I dreamt of Saniel too. On our way here, when you said that I should take a nap. I did and I dreamed. I saw him standing in front of the closed mausoleum in white. His face was unreadable and stern, almost like his father.”

Rey listened to her.

“In his hands he had five folded up veils in different colors”, she trailed off, voice softening. “Black, gray, earthy brown, navy blue and bronze.”

“Something wrong, Padme?” Rey cautiously asked.

“Oh Rey, I have a bad feeling about this.”


	8. Chapter 8

Peniel was as intimidating as her memories of him. In fact, her memories did not do him justice at all; the man was absolutely scary. A scar ran down from the tip of his left eyebrow down to the chin, a souvenir he got from a battle a long time ago.

He wore armor that made his steps heavier, but Peniel could defeat a whole army without the armor just as easily.

His raw strength was legend.

Not to mention he was a skilled swordsman, a natural born-leader.

His grey eyes were colder than ice, sharper than steel.

Each step shown the confidence within and demanded absolute authority.

Besides her, Poe gulped. She could see the hair on the back of his neck rise just from the presence of Peniel alone.

Behind him were the four members of his guard.

Lahabiel was the tallest, he wore a dark cloak that covered his entire body, and had black eyes firm and unyielding. Duma The Armory was the biggest of them all, his strength was second to only Peniel. Duma and Lahabiel were the two-main offense sources of the team as a whole. Kabshiel The Strategist was the mind of the team; Peniel’s right hand man whom the leader usually consulted on what would be the best tactic to be applied in multiple situation. The last of them was Iofiel the Silent; he would rarely speak a single word or make a sound behind the mask he always wore. Iofiel was the assassin, the sniper of the team.

All were highly skilled and were the top students trained by Peniel. They also wore the same type of clothes as Peniel. Two of them even carried their own twin swords behind their back.  
All shared the same emotionless expression just like their leader.

After all, Peniel believed that emotions were the biggest distraction to a soldier, a deadly weapon hence to him, it was considered as a weakness. 

Rey noticed that almost all of them had been glancing at Anakin more than one the minutes they arrived. Anakin seemed to aware about that but he pretended to not to care, blue eyes hardened as he focused only on Peniel.

Then it hit her in the head, Anakin was considered to be the best student Peniel ever trained. He was a genius who surpassed all his peers at such a young age, only twelve. Anakin was the pride of Peniel’s eyes, many thought he would be Peniel’s apprentice and join his teacher once he got older.

Everyone, including Peniel, was surprised when eighteen-year-old Anakin refused the offer. Instead he took up photography and began his long-term relationship with Padme. Something Peniel heavily criticized. He went so far as to call it unprofessional and a disgrace. The tension ran high between Peniel and Anakin until Obi Wan stepped in as a peacekeeper.

But even so, the fact remained that Anakin was still the student Peniel was proudest of.

A little rivalry may have been going on, Rey thought, amused.

The idea of Anakin standing there with the four wasn't appealing. It felt wrong, somehow. Padme would have agreed with it.

Anakin had a kind heart, kinder than he ever admitted to.

“How could you let something like this happen?” Peniel stepped forward to stand in front of Obi Wan, who was acting as the representative. The two stood shoulder to shoulder, eye to eye.

“We’re trying to figure this out, Peniel,” Obi Wan and Peniel shared a quick handshake. “Sablo and his men are trying to follow any leads they could find.”

“If there are any leads for him,” Peniel scoffed, skeptically.

“I’m sure that he will figure out something,” Obi Wan argued otherwise.

Peniel appeared not to trust his words at all. In fact, Peniel gave the impression that he did not listen to anything Obi Wan said, no matter what.

“Ariel is here with us”, Padme stepped up to be on the right side of Obi Wan.

“Ambriel.” 

If Peniel looked down on Obi Wan for his naivety and unwillingness to be involved in a physical fight, then the feelings that had for Padme were ten times worse. She was the reason Anakin had the courage to go against Peniel's wishes.

In his mind, she was the reason why Anakin was corrupted and strayed from his path. If it wasn’t for Ambriel, Peniel would still have a talented apprentice by his side who would have inherited his legacy.

Love, so overrated by foolish mortals.

It was nothing more than a weakness, a parasite that Peniel wanted eliminated.

“I trust you will keep Ariel safe?” He obviously ignored Padme, as if she was not there. Instead his focus was on Obi Wan.

Anakin noticed this and he was not happy. He knew the reason why Peniel did it, and he disapproved of the action.

Padme kept her face blank but it would be a lie if she said that it did not affect her on some level. To a certain degree, Padme respected Peniel for who he was but that didn’t mean she approved of his ways of thinking.

“We will,” guaranteed Obi Wan. He looked at the man in front of him, then to Padme beside him. A pending tension hung in the air above them by a string, waiting to be dropped.

“I bet you also made the same empty promise with Saniel and look where it led him,” Peniel continued his insult. “My son lost and gone.”

“Peniel, there still a chance...”

Obi Wan was then cut short by the man’s laughter.

“How long do you want to keep that shallow mind of yours, Malahidael?” Peniel stared down at him. “There is no way for him to be alive so stop that positive naïve thinking. It making me sick.”

This caught Obi Wan off guard; he looked a little annoyed if not offended. Padme looked disapproving and Anakin was fuming inside. Poe was irritated at the scene.

“Peniel”, Padme frowned, “I don’t think it’s polite for you to say that to Obi Wan. He is the Head of the House in this area, after all.”

Now Peniel did pay attention to Padme, “And I’m sure that it wasn’t your business to mess with other people, Ambriel. You have no rights to address me.”

There was a sour look on her face after he spoke.

The four guards appeared to be chuckling behind their emotionless faces as the others reacted to their leader’s words. Especially how heated Anakin’s stare was toward Peniel.

“Peniel,” Ariel walked toward them.

“Ariel.” Her presence managed to stop his fiery attack. His face softened for a moment; barely recognizable.

Maybe there was still a small part inside his heart of steel that remembered how to love and care for someone other than himself.

Or that what Rey would like to think, seeing how Peniel embraced Ariel in his arms. There was an undeniable gentleness in his actions towards Ariel, how he whispered softly in her ears with words of comfort to ease her pain.

According to Obi Wan, Peniel and Ariel married when both were young when Peniel first became a guardian. He was a different person back then, more open-minded, but then he changed. Peniel slowly became another person, his old personality disappearing as if it never existed in the first place.

By the time Saniel was born, Peniel had completely shaken off his old-self to become the person many would fear and respect even now.

While he openly discredited love as a weakness but Peniel did not annul his marriage with Ariel. He never mentioned the reason he chose not to. Some speculated that it was because he was an honorable man who would not abandon his son. Others wondered if he was still in love with Ariel, that a part of his younger self still existed underneath the hard exterior, locked up and kept away somewhere in his soul.

A part that Peniel could not destroy even if he wanted to.

Because if that part was to be destroyed, it would also result in the destruction of Peniel himself, so while he couldn’t kill this part of him, he could still hide it away.

Rey wondered how Ariel felt about this whole thing, that the man before her now was no longer the same man she fell in love with and was married to. Instead, that man was replaced with a different person who may look like him but did not act like him.

He was a man who drowned in all the bloodshed created by his very hands. In a way he was driven to madness and the only way out for Peniel was to harden himself. If he could no longer feel a thing, then he would not be flooded with guilt.

_You see, he was just as weak as the rest of them._

The phone in Obi Wan’s left pocket rang, it quickly gathered all of the focus from everyone in the room. Obi Wan pulled out wanting to turned it off but the name of Sablo glowing on the screen stopped him.

Instead he answered the call.

“Obi Wan, I just have some news regarding Saniel,” Sablo’s voice echoed through the speaker.

But before Obi Wan even opened his mouth, Peniel beat him to it. “Do tell us, Sablo”

There was a moment of silence from the other side. “Peniel?” choked Sablo.

“I thought you be arriving later on.”

“When I arrived is none of your concern, Sablo. Now, tell us what did you found out about my son?”

“Is Ariel there with you?” asked Sablo.

“No,” Peniel lied, “She not with me; Ariel is with Ambriel. You can tell me.”

“It’s not good. Not good at all,” confessed Sablo. “We were too late.”

There was a cry as Ariel fainted into Peniel's arms . He held her close to his chest. The news was devastating as it sucked all the hope from everyone. Obi Wan tensed, and Anakin pulled Padme into an embrace.

“Wait, is that Ariel? Dammit Peniel, you should not have let her hear that!” cursed Sablo through the phone.

“She will know either way, I just made it easier for her. The sooner she knows, the less pain she will have to suffer through," Peniel coldly said. “And I presume you’ve located his body?”

“That’s not how you break the news to her,” murmured Sablo, “But yes, my men have located Saniel’s remains and they are isolating the area right now. I'm coming after I finish the report.”

“Good, I will be waiting”, Peniel ended the call and threw the phone back to Obi Wan. “See Malahidael, the sooner you accept how immature you are, the clearer you able to perceive this world for what it truly is. A cruel, unforgiving world.”

Rey cried at the thought that they could not get Saniel back alive.

But at least they were able to find him, in a way.

_See sweetheart, see how cold-hearted life can be?_

_It took everything from you._

_But not me, I will be your slave if you allow me._


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beta read by @Kyberstone

Sablo was like a ghost when he appeared in front of them. His face white as a sheet and his body was shivering.

The brown eyes shaking with emotion, he looked distressed.

His face said it all.

Even before Sablo began speaking, most of the group had readied themselves for terrible news.  
Saniel was found.

Rey felt her heart breaking.

Peniel coiled his hands into fists to restrain himself, his eyes were glowing dangerously and his lips were tightly sealed to a thin line across his face.

“We found him,” he mumbled, barely louder than a whisper. Any strength in him had all disappeared.

Rey could hear the pin drop in the air as everyone just looked at him.

Obi-Wan close his eyes and inhaled loudly, trying to control his pain. Memories flashed through his head like a montage of the bundle of joy that Saniel was.

He had returned to the stars.

Padme held onto Anakin while crying to his shirt. Anakin had his arms around her, equally tormented.

Rey received a hug from both Poe and Finn as both of them leaned on her, head bowed down to hide their tearful eyes.

Hamaliel forced herself to stood tall and proud even though she was also affected by the news.

“Where?” Peniel asked as he caught Ariel in his hands. As the mother, she suffered the worse and upon hearing those words, her world had blacked out.

Sablo breathlessly said, “His body just washed ashore today. The police were immediately notified,” he took out photos taken at the crime scene and gave them to Peniel.

A sandy white beach at sunset. Saniel would have loved this place. If given the chance, the young man would have taken some pictures of his own.

“My people have isolated the place, so if you want to come, we can go now. It’s only fair for you to be there in person. But we better be quick.”

Peniel gently laid Ariel down onto the sofa; he caressed her face, traced her tears for a heartfelt moment. Once he stood back up, his face had hardened.

It sent shivers up their bodies.

Peniel turned his attention to Azrael, who quickly stood still as a soldier. Head held high.

“You were one of the last people to talk to him”

“Yes, sir,” Azrael gulped, “He showed me an album of embarrassing photos of Anakin in one of the spare room in the House while Anakin tried to break in the entire time.”

“Peniel, I can assure you that my brother is telling the truth.” Anakin stepped up but with just one glare, Peniel successfully stopped him from advancing any further.

“Do not interfere, Camael,” Peniel warned before continuing with his questions, “Anything else you wish to add, Azrael? Or is that all?

“Sir?”

“Saniel was an active kid, there's no way he wouldn't have told you something or come back to mess with you further. So, spill it.”

Azrael jumped at his aggressiveness before clumsily picking himself up from the scare. He stuttered.

“He told me not to tell this to anyone…Saniel said it was top secret and if you ever found out, you would stop him."

Peniel arched his brows, waiting. This frightened Azrael even more; his legs were shaking.

“Saniel never told me the name of the place, but he mentioned a dimension behind a lake, an upside-down realm behind the mirror. He said that you once camped there during one of your missions." 

“The one that resulted in your scar.”

“Sablo, we’re ready,” Peniel turned to Sablo instead. “Bring us to his body. Duma, Kabshiel, you two stay with her to watch the place. Lahabiel, you and Iofiel are coming with me.”

The four-armed guards obeyed, “Yes sir.”

“I will stay, too,” Poe raised his hand. Too afraid to admit that he would rather stay behind and deal with guards rather than Peniel himself.

Peniel seemed to be aware of this, but for now he did not bother to call him out on his ridiculous weakness.

But he did point at Azrael with a warning. “You stay here and don’t even think about leaving, got it? One step out of this place and my guards have every right to haul you back in.”

“Yes sir,” Azrael nodded.

In the end, Finn stayed back with Poe. He wanted to take care of Ariel when she regained consciousness.

Padme did not want to go either. She would not be able to deal with seeing Saniel in such a state. Hamaliel also stayed behind so that Padme would have someone to talk to.

Only five of them went with Sablo to the location, with Peniel leading them. By now the sun had totally disappeared below the horizon.

The waves crashed to the beach in an unchanging melody.

A couple of police officers stood guard at the untouched body of Saniel. At the sight of Peniel, they all bowed and went on to patrol the area to make sure no one else sneaked in through the perimeter.

Saniel lay half-submerged in the shallow water, his clothes and hair was damp, but what caught their eyes was the gaping wound in the middle of his chest, the soaked clothes surrounding the area dark with his blood. The bloated wounded flesh was blackened and burned. Exactly like the wounds found on Muriel that turned out to be the fatal blow for her.

Proof that the person behind his death was also involved in the unsolved case of Muriel.

He was killed.

Before being dumped him into the ocean, waiting for them to find him.

“Oh,” Rey had to look away because she could not stand seeing Saniel like this. Being discarded like this.

He didn’t deserve to be treated like this.

To have his life stolen from him.

This angered her.

_Anger_

Obi Wan and Anakin clenched their fists, trying to keep their emotions in check. This was the moment they could not show anyone their sorrow, for they were responsible for many more. And it was their duty to kept their people safe.

They will mourn the loss of Saniel in private later, when their walls were permitted to be put down for a while.

Peniel didn't visibly react. Any strong emotions he had were hidden beneath a stony exterior. He stood there, eyes on the body of his son. Not saying a single word.

Lahabiel and Iofiel behind him, waiting for an order.

Sablo watched from the side, wondering how Ariel would get through this? Even though she strongly believed that something bad had happened based on her instincts alone. But now, Saniel is here.

They had to deliver this discovery to Ariel. She would have to face the physical evidence of her nightmare.

Peniel may be an expert in hiding and suppressing his emotions, he may had been able to harden his heart. But Ariel.

Ariel was the compassionate person, she was very much the type who would like to help anyone who was in trouble.

Her heart was not as stone-cold as her husband.

While this ill-fated even would affect Peniel as much as Ariel, Sablo was more worried about Ariel's mental and physical health than Peniel's.

Unlike him, she still had Rachiel to took care of. Nurturing her young daughter and grieve for her older son.

No mother should have to gone through this kind of thing.

Saniel would have absolutely hated to see his mother in so much torment.

After a while, Peniel walked toward his son’s body. Each step he took was slow and calculated as if he was thinking about a course of action.

Rey would like to think that it was because he too, was hurt as much as them. If not more. Rey really wanted to see what he was thinking right now.

Lahabiel followed closely behind. He had understood his leader’s body languages well, after years of being under his command.

Peniel knelt beside Saniel’s body, ignoring the sand sticking to his armor.

His fingers touched the pale blue face of his dead son. Eyes hard and cold as steel, without turning his head back Peniel grimly ordered.

“Lahabiel.”

The guard reached into his cloak to take out a folded white shroud. Did he always carry it with him or did Peniel assume that his son wouldn't be found alive? 

Lahabiel carried the burial garment with both hands as he walked up to offer it to Peniel.

The leader took the sheet with one hand, before wrapping the white silk around Saniel’s body with care and persistence.

How many times has he done this before?

Rey thought about all the battles that Peniel had been through. How many times did he have to bury his companions?

The white empty shroud turned emerald green like Saniel’s eyes. An intricate design of two golden wings entwined around a small circle was inscribed on the sheet. It symbolized their angelic roots and the bright burning sun.

Green was the color for Saniel. Just like fiery red was for Muriel.

Peniel then placed Saniel on a small bed that he conjured.

“Let us head back, it’s only right to put him in our mausoleum with the others,” was all Peniel said when he stood back up. 

Peniel’s team helped to carry Saniel’s body to the stone-gray mausoleum located behind the House, further back in the forests. There he would be laid before his body was burned and ashes were scattered to the winds.

A wish from Ariel, as she said that was what her son would have wanted.

To be free.

_Delusional_

Looking at Saniel’s body right now saddened her. Even with the help from the morticians, he did not look any better in her eyes, his once healthy skin was now blue and pale. Eyes stayed shut and swollen while the brown hair lay matted against his head.

Death did not suit him at all.

Too quiet and solemn.

If he was here, what would Saniel say?

Would he have some bad pun about his own death? Saniel had dry humor in him, no doubt he would had done it if he could.

They gathered around him to pay their final respects; candles were lit to offer warmth and solace to their souls.

They stayed there for hours before returning to the main House. Poe and Finn had decided to cook dinner for everyone with the help of Padme. But Azrael opted to stay in the room provided for him in the time being. After the short conversation with Peniel, the man had successful scared the living daylights out of Azrael.

A fear that Poe completely sympathized with. Poe did not mind when he brought the food to his room. The two even shared an exchange of how they should try to avoid Peniel at all costs from now on. A long-term plan as they did not know how long Peniel and his team would stay at the house.

Finn and Rey teased Poe about his silly phobia, while Poe kept insisted that it was a serious matter.

Ariel and the two guards had gone out in the afternoon to get Rachiel so that she could meet her brother one last time. The little girl was so excited to meet more people since the two decided to stayed here until Saniel was incinerated.

Especially now that her dad was here as well.

“Papa”, she excitedly yelled in her mother’s arms, her chubby arms reaching toward Peniel.

Ariel’s lips arched a bit at her daughter’s enthusiasm; she was glad that Rachiel’s young innocent mind kept her from being overcome with grief.

“Rachiel,” Peniel pulled the girl into a loose embrace, but left her in her mother's arms.

This, however, did not deter the girl. She giggled with joy.

“Why don’t you put her in the room?” Peniel turned to Ariel after kissing her on the cheek, “Duma, you go with them. Keep them safe”

Ariel nodded and smiled at him as she and their daughter headed to the upper floors.

“Why don’t we go and explore the place, Little Rose?”, Ariel said to her daughter who smirked with the promise of adventure.

Something she shared with her brother.

“Yes sir,” Duma bowed and then followed the mother and daughter like a shadow.

Peniel did not take his eyes off his family until he was sure that they were out of sight. The gentleness in his eyes retreated as he returned his focus to the people around the large dining table.

“Saniel will be properly cremated in three-day’s time. And I want to be the officiator for the ceremony”

“Of course, if that’s what you want,” Obi Wan shrugged.

“And you will also leave the searching for the killer to my team and me,” Peniel declared.

“What?”

Obi Wan, Anakin, and Hamaliel immediately stared at him with a big frowns on their faces. Clearly not accepted this statement.

“You can’t just tell me to stop the investigation,” Hamaliel argued.

“Well, obviously your team is not doing their job,” Peniel glared at her. “If they were, then the killer should have been catch after the case of Muriel. The fact that my son was the next victim showshow inadequate your team is”

“My intelligence teams are perfectly functional and professional in their job, Peniel,” Hamaliel disputed, trying not to raise her voice. 

“Evidence shows me otherwise. And that you get sensitive over them furthers my worry that you are too emotional to lead your team in the right direction or are willing to punish them”

Obi Wan held Hamaliel’s wrist in order to prevent her from doing something that she would regret later. Besides, Hamaliel was no opponent to Peniel, he would have defeated her without holding back.

“Why?” Anakin was smarter, he had no intention to go head to head with his former master. Peniel was one of the most talented sword wielders. He didn’t want to got involved in a war that he had high chances of losing.

And despite their disagreements in the past, Anakin still held a lot of respect for the man. After all, he was the one who took the young Anakin in when his own mother passed away in the hospital and his relatives refused to adopted him.

Years of spending time with him let Anakin know how stubborn Peniel could be. He also did not like when his authority being questioned.

But Anakin still wanted an explanation for this action.

Peniel coldly threw a crumpled paper onto the table without much clarification.

Anakin carefully unwrapped the paper, eyes never leaving the stern expression on Peniel's face.

A similar black ink and a familiar hand written mockingly greeted him like a devious serpent. Anakin felt as if his heart stopped for a mere second, while his blood turned to ice inside his veins.

“What’s the meaning of this?” he hissed, throwing the opened letter back.

“What do you think?” Peniel cruelly smirked, “It was inside Saniel’s mouth when we found him on the beach.”

“What’s that?” Sablo got his hands on the letter and he had the exact reaction as Anakin. Sablo closed his eyes as he gave Obi Wan the paper.

Obi Wan glanced down at the writing and immediately understood why Peniel was acting this way.

_Greetings my dear, dear Ángelos,_

_I hope that you are all happy with my present for you. A gift of mercy to show you my kindness. I am not as heartless as you believe I am, now am I? So horrible. So terrible. Let me tell you a little something. This boy is my new personal favorite. The beating heart, flesh and blood and very alive. What a sacrificial lamb. What a feast. The brunette was a mess with all that pointless struggle, eyes filled with tears and the lamb fought the wolf to survive. Such a heroic idiotic dream._

_I watched as my image imprinted into those shiny green orbs. My image as the last thing he ever saw. It would take me the rest of the day to deal with the body but then, it was worth my time and attention. The young lamb lying on the cold earth, still. Those eyes wide open but living, no more._

_The knife was an inferno that burned through the fragile skin and bones. The golden shimmering river of blood was a sight to behold. Such heaven. I pride myself as a gentleman and this gift did not disappoint me. I’m sure that you will enjoy this as much as I do. Remember, this gift was also given to you by the generosity of His Satanic Majesty, so be grateful.  
Your Angel of Death  
(O Ángelos Tou Thanátou)_

“That bastard,” cursed Hamaliel as her eyes skimmed through every word, every sentence of what the killer described as a joyous event. A feast. She was disgusted with his broken mind of a murder who took joy in killing his victim.

Padme was glad that Peniel spared Ariel from reading such things, she would have collapsed and been unable to get back up if she had Padme had chills just from reading the loathing words.

So, this had become a personal issue for Peniel, Rey noted.

He would have avenged his son anyway, but with the existence of this letter...

These boasting sentences of the one who played a role in Saniel’s demise.

This was the ultimate insult to Peniel and his pride as the protector. Not only for his family but also for their kind.

Muriel’s death was the warning bell and Saniel’s death was the catalyst for Peniel to fully take this as the humiliation that he had the strong desire to undo.

_Such confidence_

His way to weep for his son was to take action, fueled with a agenda of vengeance. Rey pitied the man. He carried weights on his two shoulders for so long that he could not longer put them down, not that he wanted to. He refused to share the burdens with the people around him.

He even put his love for his family into some kind of duty for him to complete and to take revenge on their behalf.

Such a tragic man.

_Such Pride._

_Such Arrogance._

_Such Hatred._

_What a downfall._


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edit by @Kyberstone.

Arguments broke out since that night, Peniel insisted on taking over the case of Muriel and Saniel. Hamaliel on the other hand, argued that this was a shared responsibility. Muriel was under her executive power and Saniel was just as important to her. His death therefore was in her authority as well.

He of course, disagreed.

Calling her naïve and feeble. A crying spoiled child in its nurse’s arms.

This didn’t sit well with Hamaliel, she disliked it when people discredited her or called her as a kid.

It made Hamaliel felt useless and powerless. It reminded her of the time of ambushed under her own birth parents. That same feeling of helplessness, weak and defenseless.

A fight almost broke out if not for Padme, Anakin, Ariel and Obi Wan intervention at the right time. Obi Wan and Padme held back an agitated Hamaliel, Ariel dealt with an annoyed Peniel and Anakin with the for protective guards.

Since then the two of them had to be kept away from each other, they were not allowed to stayed in the same room alone together without the presence of a third person. Padme had to kept Hamaliel within her eyesight while Anakin looked out for Peniel and his four teammates.

Obi Wan stated that a compromise will be fulfill but for it to happened, the two side need to put their personal feeling aside and truly sit and talk to solve the problem by came up with a feasible solution that satisfied both sides.

But all she heard since then were more arguments and they had yet to reach an acceptable agreement.

Peniel would not back down on his stand and Hamaliel was in her stubborn mindset. 

_Hah, those hopeless oversize birdbrains._

The boiling tension scared Azrael to the point that he chose to stay fortressed inside the safety of his room and only sneaked out when he sure that no one was around, especially Peniel. Azrael could be an athlete, Rey had seen him reach amazing speeds when he ran away from a coming Peniel and back to his room under three minutes.

He was too afraid of the notion that Peniel might release his anger on him. Azrael would prefer to stayed injury-free from now on.

Poe quickly removed himself from this cold war. Instead, he was somehow able to convince Finn to crash with him at Rey’s humble apartment in the meantime.

Despite having his own home. Poe’s explanation was that it would be easier and quicker for this way if they were needed back at the House; he would not have to waste time to driving around to pick them up separately.

Besides, he and Poe would contribute their fair share of money during their stay, not that they planned to raid her refrigerator or anything in the first place. 

Rey thought this was fair. That was the only reason she allowed them to shared her home in the first place.

That night, when the mystery rose once again made its way to her door, Rey quickly put it in her room rather than spend times adoring the flower as usual.

On the way, Poe and Finn kept cooing at her, saying how lucky she was to have such a devoted secret admirer.

She threw a pillow at them.

_Intruders._

_Insolent children._

“I wonder when will this end?” Finn shoved a whole doughnut into his mouth.

They were gathered in her living room, around the sizable television. Poe bought boxes of doughnuts and pizzas. They decided to have a movie night to relax after a harrowing week.

“This is good,” Rey munched on the rectangular slice of cheese and pepperoni.

“Of course, I know only the best places in the city,” Poe puffed his chest out like a proud peacock.

“What are we going to watch? Horror or thriller?” Finn went through a list of movies on Rey’s television.

“I vote for horror. Nothing better than a decent horror film that knows how to scare you instead of all the ones than depend on jump scares,” Poe declared.

“Fine by me,” Rey made herself a comfortable spot on her own couch, trapped between Finn and Poe. “They never scare me anyway.”

“Horror it is then,” Finn with the controller in his hand clicked through the selection.

“Oh, stop, stop Finn,” Poe called out, a doughnut hanging halfway out of his mouth. “Move up, yes. I heard that movie is scary”

“Be careful, you are sitting on my couch.” Rey bumped his elbow as bread crumbs fell onto the seat. “If anything gets the couch dirty, you're the one who has to clean it. And this will be your bed for a couple of days so keep it clean.”

“Now, now, children, buckle in,” Finn clicked on the movie.

The screen went dark for a couple of seconds before the production logo appeared as an introduction.

The first movie was about a cursed videotape that somehow found its way into the hands of a single mother and her son. The main character was bland and boring; she made a series of dumb decisions and if Rey was honest, the character wasn’t a very good mother. But aside from that, the movie was interesting. The antagonist was a vengeful spirit of a girl who haunted the well that she was pushed into. She was on the path to hunt all the unlucky victims who watched her tape.

But in a twisted way, the girl wanted to turn her newest victim into the mother she never got. Rey wonder how much of that reasoning made sense. Wouldn’t it better for the girl to possess the body of the mother instead? To have a physical form?

The second one was about a blond girl, the youngest in her family, who lived in the middle of nowhere. The parents weren't any better than the ones in the first film. What was with irresponsible parents in horror movies? The movie was scary as well as silly, the young girl apparently inherited some kind of psychic power from her mother who in turn inherited it from her mother, the little girl’s grandmother. This made her the target of a restless ghost, who was once a false prophet, a lunatic who lead the entire town to their doom.

As cliché as it was, her parents did not believe the girl's claims at first. Things had escalated so far that they needed help from others in order to save their daughter. There was a situation involving wormholes that Rey didn't wholly understand. The family thought it was finally over, only for them to have to fight in an underground cave surrounded by dead bodies.

Poe laughed at the clown in the older son’s bedroom, which caused Finn to yelp in surprise. He snickered, knowing that painted clown faces and Finn didn't go well together.

As they got to the third movie, her eyelids already felt heavy. Rey fought against her sleepiness. The movie was the story of a young female detective in the world where males were still the dominant class.She had to found a way to stop a serial killer who preyed on females while being influenced and attracted to a captive mastermind criminal who took an interest in her. Their dynamic was the backbone to the whole movie. It started out as a curious game like a predator and a wounded lamb, but eventually it began to change into a game of equals, two sides of a coin.

The concept of the film fascinated her.

Somehow it hit close to home.

_I am the shadow that follows._

_I am your dreams._

_I am your soul._

“Rey”, she awoke to a hand on her shoulder. She did not realize that she had fallen asleep halfway into the movie.

“Go to sleep, Rey,” Finn smiled at her as he turned off the screen. Poe began to clean the mess they had created. “You must be tired.”

“Huh,” she sat there, disoriented.

“Yup, you are so you need to go to bed.” Poe laughed as he helped her to stand up and led her to the bedroom.

“Remember to brush your teeth beforehand though.”

“Yes mother,” Rey joked. Poe left her alone, returning to prepare bedding for himself and Finn for the night.

Her eyes didn't want to open, all she wanted to do was lie down on the bed. But Rey forced her body to stay awake a little longer, she dragged herself to the bathroom, eyes half open.

She saw black and blurry visions, her mind and body were ready to shut down as she brushed her teeth. She looked so tired in the mirror, barely awake.

Once Rey rinsed off the remaining toothpaste, she hauled her exhausted body back to the bed, turned off the light and finally snuggled in the warmth covers.

Just as she was about to close her eyes, Rey saw this mass of darkness stood before her, right beside the flowers. It was tall and imposing, darker than the surrounding black. Her mind must be playing tricks on her.

And so, she went to sleep.

That night, instead of drowning, she was standing on a shore of blood red sand, the dark water crashing into the shores in a steady rhythm. Tall white cliffs stood behind her and above, a shower of golden rain fell from a crimson sky.

The deadly siren song.

But oh, so sweet, so poetic.

_Life imitates art._

She took a step closer to the cool water.

A shadowy figure stood on the moving surface just off shore, a mass of darkness but Rey know that he was looking at her. Behind his back were two large shadow objects that she could not name. It was stuck to him like a part of his body.

Rey could not identify his face but a flower crown of golden roses lay on his head like the crown of an emperor. And this was his realm.

The figure offered his hand toward her.

She stood there in a daze.

The waves crashed to the shore.

Wave after wave.

Without a second thought, Rey stepped on the water.

She did not sink as expected but the water added as a road beneath her feet, yielding to form a path for her.

As her hand touched his, the figure pulled her into his embrace, the shadow behind him acting as a pair of wings and covering her.

And they fell into the depths.

_And you are mine._


	11. Chapter 11

The morning shone vividly bright in the crystal blue sky.

A new day and hope. 

Rey rose from her sleep, feeling better than ever.

As if she was dosed with strong energy drink and lots of coffee. She felt strong and full aware.

It turned out that Rey was the only one awake. When she walked out of her room, Poe and Finn were still deep asleep. They cuddled together in the middle of a fort of fluff pillows and blankets. There was even a large green narwhal plush.

Interesting.

Rey was on her tiptoes as she sneaked to the kitchen and began to make them breakfast.

She thinks about pancakes with fresh strawberries and some blueberries.

Halfway through, Poe and Finn stirred, woken by the smell of pancakes.

“Smells nice,” Poe sat up; his hair was a mes.

“Speak for yourself, Mr. Birdnest,” she smirked at her drowsy friend. Finn was no better, he was sluggish, resting his head on the fluffy stuffed narwhal toy.

“You two can take turns in the bathroom, so who’s first?”

“Poe,” Finn mumbled, still trying to shake off the sleepiness.

Poe glared at Finn but accepted his fate. Poe headed for a bath while carrying his personal items with him.

“My head hurt,” Finn complained. “I should not have eaten those doughnuts and pizzas with that milkshake last night.”

“Told you,” Rey placed the three plates of pancakes on the dining table. “Sleep in a little bit more, Finn. Until Poe is finished showering.”

“Great plan,” he said, quickly dozing off.

Rey got the maple syrup and put it on her before diving in. She could hear the water running from the wall and a faint hiss from Poe as he was hit by the ice cold water. That will wake him up, she thought. A smile crept on her face, that was the lesson of a lifetime.

The first time she ever used the bath, Rey had jumped out of it with only a towel around her body as she ran to her thick, warm blanket instead. She buried herself in layers of fabric, still shaking from the cold. It would take a while before she dared to head back to the shower again. Since then, Rey always made sure to wait a couple of minutes for the water to warm up before taking a bath.

It slowly became a habit and Rey got so used to it that she would do it without really thinking about it.

She must have forgotten to tell that to Poe. Oops.

This scene in front of her felt normal. A normal day. A normal life. It made her felt less like a stranger, or an outcast, but instead just Rey.

Life is just an illusion, sweetheart.

Your mind and eyes could very well…betray you.

“You should have warned me, Rey,” Poe stepped out in a clean dark suit; he looked better than earlier. “A little warning would have been useful. The water felt like it was from the Antarctica”

She giggled with a mouthful of sweetened pancakes with the sugary mix of strawberry and maple. “Sorry, I forgot. It’s normal for me so I don’t usually think about it, you know”

“Well, consider that I will remember this for a long, long time if I ever decide to crash at your house again.” Poe walked toward a sleepy Finn.

“Finn, it’s your turn.”

“Already,” Finn raised his head off the stuffed animal as Poe stacked his old clothes away. With a snap of his fingers, the dirty clothes disappeared, likely to be put back in the washing machine back at his home.

“Go to take a bath before you stink, Finn,” Poe laughed, watching Finn slowly gathering his stuff.

A sneaky smirk etched onto his face. “The water might clear your head.”

“Sure, sure,” Finn disappeared to the bathroom, locking the door.

“You didn’t tell him about the water though,” Rey stared at a snickering Poe. She also smiled widely.

“You didn’t tell me about that either,” Poe pointedly glance back at her.

A moment later, the two were engulfed in a laughing feast as a blood-cursed scream from Finn shot through the air.

“Oh My God! What’s wrong with this water!!!”

Once Finn walked out, he was not happy. The poor guy glared at a smug looking Rey and Poe with a hand on his waist. Finn growled and cursed them for tricked him into this while pouting like an agitated kitten. Rey offered the pancakes as a truce.

The three gathered around the table in a peaceful morning.

“When do you think Peniel will finally accept some assistance?” Rey spoke up while Poe and Finn were digging through their plates.

Poe actually scoffed at her question. “Knowing him, there are only two options. Either it will take a very long time with lots and lots of persuasion or it will never happen. And considering our situation at hand, I will go with the later. Peniel would rather take this alone than let anyone else’s help. We would just be a hinderance in his eyes.”

“Also, Rey spoke up while Poe and Finn were digging through their plates While he believes in strict orders all the time, she prefers a softer approach, treating people with respect, only being harsh when necessary. They are oil and water. They don’t mix well together. This is a disaster waiting to happen.”

“Even though you appear to fear him, it seems that you know him rather well, Poe.”

Poe was silent for a moment; the half empty plate suddenly became so amazing that he had to advert his eyes from looking at Rey down to the plain simple plate.

“I used to train under him when I was younger.” His voice was in a low tone, eyes furrowed. “He’s good as people said. But the purpose of his whole life is so focused on fighting that I think he actually forgot how to be a normal human being with feelings and mistakes.”

“The training at his camp was harsh and brutal. It was physically and mentally exhausting. You wake up at dawn before the sun even rises, then have a quick breakfast. After that was a whole day doing nothing but training, training and training till late at dusk. Peniel has this high expectation, he demands perfection out of a bunch of young teenagers who don't have any experience.".”

Rey and Finn sat there as Poe continued with his reminiscence of the old times.

“I was different back then, just like many other teenager under his training were lot different. I was disconnected with myself. I was stoic and didn’t get really close with any of my peers. We were a pack of lone wolves put together, while being subjected to all sort of training.”

Poe stopped to take a large bite out of his food, he chewed on it while leaning back in his chair, focused elsewhere.

“And the worst of it was that he kept comparing us to the one and only Skywalker. Talking about how useless the bunch of use were and how none were able to surpass him. To Peniel, Anakin was the perfect student, the perfect copy of himself. When we did something wrong or the results didn’t satisfy him, he would spend the rest of the time telling us about how Anakin never failed anything.”

“I think it was some kind of motivation in his eyes. By comparing us to Anakin, a person who none of us had ever met, it would actually made us to strive to become better. And many did try, after they got sick of how Peniel made them feel weak compared to the Anakin, Anakin this, Anakin that. Peniel was aware of that, he kept an eye out for those who tried and when they failed, he purposely attacked them with even more comparison that did nothing but make them feel even worse about themselves. I remembered hearing many of my peers cry themselves to sleep at the end of the day only for the process to repeat itself the next day.”

Rey could not even imagine how it was back then for Poe and for the others. When she met Poe, he was already this warm, flirtatious friend who enjoyed talking to people and loved to socialize. Now hearing this and how Poe was this distant, cold person actually made her felt weird. In a way, she kind of felt lucky to be able to meet the latter Poe instead of the first one.

“Anakin was supposed to be his predecessor, but when thing didn’t go as planned, it angered Peniel. He sometimes let it slip about how Anakin decided to throw away his future to such mundane life and love. As I was listening to his rampage, I decided that I would rather have the life Anakin followed. So for the second time in his life, Peniel was faced with another shock. I myself along with some other students decided that we have had enough. So, we just packed our stuff and left.”

“We went our separate ways, many traveled to Houses in different locations to settle in. I travelled here, to this city and to this branch under the control of Obi Wan. Now imagine my surprise when I learned that this is also the place where Anakin Skywalker stayed.”

“It must have been a bombshell,” commented Rey.

“It was,” Finn chimed in, “I remember that day, it had been a week in since Poe arrived. We were having dinner when Anakin returned from his trip in Peru. Poe literally stopped eating and stared at Anakin the entire time.”

“Really?” Rey turned to Poe for confirmation.

“Yup,” he nodded. “I couldn’t believe it. Out of everyone, it was me who had the luck to run into the Anakin Skywalker that we had heard so much about back in the camp.”

“But if I remember correctly, you did not get along with Anakin at first,” Finn looked at him.

“I did not,” affirmed Poe.

“Why?”

“To be honest, I’m not really sure. Maybe it was bitterness or some pent-up anger that I suffered from all the training. You know, hearing about all of Anakin's accomplishments and knowing that we would not be able to achieve that the same kind of success. I avoided him the first couple of weeks and then chased after him demanding he duel with me.”

“Did Anakin accept the challenge then?” Rey was curious the see who was the winner.

Poe cackled loudly as the fondness of memories, “Not only did he accept the duel, he defeated me after the first five minutes of our fight. I was flabbergasted and ashamed, thinking of how if Peniel was there he would definitely have shamed me. So, I demanded a rematch. Anakin just went with it. But after sixty-seven matches of pure defeat and noticing that Anakin hadn't even broken a sweat, I was finished."

“Anakin even joked that we could do thirty-three more rounds to make it a perfect one hundred,” Poe chuckled.

“Then he sat me down and had a long talk with me. Apparently, Obi Wan sole me out and told Anakin about who I am and where I came from, which made Anakin feel the need to put some sense in me. He went full psychiatrist on me, asking me all sort of questions, how I feel about here and the training camp. When I answered that I liked it more here than back there, he encouraged me to put all that behind and just find myself again, do something I like rather than being forced to do something I hated.”

“He then admitted that what I and the other kids did would probably pissed of Peniel but he approved. After that, I wrote letters to the other kids who by now had settled in at different branches of the Houses. They were jealous that I able to meet Anakin and promised to stop by. Anakin had a quick dueling and bonding session with them over our bad mentor. And then he told me to go to medical school when I said that I wanted to help people.”

"That was quite a journey you went on." She was happy that Poe managed to find his way after everything that he went through.

_Boring_

“What I did, really pissed off Peniel though,” Poe said with a sly smirk, “What I did and what I achieved after leaving the camp set an example to other students and he did not like it one bit. Especially when he heard that Anakin was involved in this. That why I tend to avoid him when possible, there is this bad blood between us that I don’t want to dealt with.”

“Understandable,” Finn and Rey agreed. They would not want to mess with Peniel either if they were in Poe’s situation.

Their phones light up with the same message from Obi Wan, asking them to come by as soon as possible; apparently the tension had risen significantly and he might need their help. Padme and Anakin were keeping an eye out for Hamaliel, and Ariel was trying her best with Peniel but since she was still grieving over Saniel, Obi Wan did not want to stressed her out even more.

The poor mother had enough problems to deal with, she did not need more.

“Who would have guessed?” Poe sarcastically said, looking at his phone. “See, I told you that this might end badly. Peniel isn’t the type who make compromises.”

“A bloody ticking bomb.”

“Well, we better get going then,” Finn collected the empty plates and rushed to the sink. He began to do the chore while Rey and Poe prepared to leave, “I don’t want to see a civil war break out.”

“It would be fun actually." Rey threw a stuffed animal at him for that remark.

When the three friends arrived at the House, they were amazed. Most of the residents had moved outside, they utilized the large front and back yards as a temporary shelter location. Tents were in rows and columns. Though they might have looked small from the outside, the enchanted tents were much bigger on the inside; a family of ten would live there comfortably. An area in the back had become an outdoor cinema; people had a picnic with bacon, barbeque and popcorn while they enjoyed the movie.

“Oh,” Finn looked around. “We are having a party?”

Poe saw Raphael in his Hawaii shirt and shorts, sitting in front of his tent and reading a book.

“Raphe, are we having some kind of celebration?” he asked.

The man looked up from his book; he hated it when people disturbed him while he was reading. Poe knew this, but he didn't care. Besides, it was fun to see the scowl on the man’s face.

“No,” Raphael answered dryly, then went back to flipping to the next page. “This is an evacuation.”

“It’s that bad?” Now Rey was worried; this might very well be a civil war.

“Imagine hearing them fricking yelling all night long and you will understand,” Raphael snarled, “Two bloody set of lungs and don’t get me started on the times when they decided to be physical. I was trying to sleep dammit: I didn’t anticipate an earthquake stimulation. Azrael basically barricaded himself in his own room, the young lad was scared out of his mind.”

“Trouble sleeping, Raphe?” Poe teased.

“You don’t say, Dameron.” Raphael hated that nickname with a passion but according to Poe, saying his whole name was a mouthful. It was bad that he and Poe worked in the same hospital. Damn Skywalker for put the brat under his care, every time they saw each other, Dameron called him that nickname. Whenever other hospital employees thought it was a good idea to use the nickname on the redhead, Raphael made their lives a living hell.

He threw the book at Poe, annoyed. “Don’t you dare call me that, Dameron. Now get lost, I want my privacy back. Go somewhere else or better yet, fix that fricking problem inside.”

“Will do, Raphe,” Poe grabbed Rey and Finn as they ran off, leaving behind an angry aristocrat redhead.

Raphael sure had a vocabulary of colorful words, Rey will give him that.

She was impressed.

The three ran to the door when it automatically opened. Obi Wan stood behind it and welcomed them in. The brown-haired man looked tired as he had to personally deal with the two troublemakers respectively.

“You look…urg…a little shabby,” Finn gave him a quick assessement.

“And I would say that it’s an understatement,” Obi Wan let them in. “So, I’m sure that you all have seen the excitement going on in the yard with our brothers and sisters. They decided to have fun with outdoor activities”

“Right,” Poe snickered.

“How are they?” Rey looked around the vacated room.

“Hamaliel is having a time out. Peniel is gone too, he's with his guards working on a plan." Obi Wan massaged his temples. “Ariel and Rachiel are somewhere out there, probably watching movies with the others. Ariel’s kid has everyone wrapped around her fingers.”

“Good for them,” Poe softened, “It helps Ariel to know that there are people who care about her and her daughter. Saniel would have been delighted to see it.”

“I know.”

A crash interrupted the group as it caused a shockwave throughout the House. Groans and heavy sighs could be heard coming from outside.

“What’s going on now”, Obi Wan rumbled to himself as he went to explore the source of problem. In just for a short period of time and he’s already started to have white hairs for the first time in his life.

Not even in his lengthy life did he got any white hairs until now. They ran to the hallway to where the sunroom was located. Most of them were expected to see Peniel and Hamaliel at each other’s throats again.

But instead, it was Anakin and Duma going at it, swords clashing against one another. Peniel and the other three were standing from afar, watching.

Duma may have had the advantage with his large body but Anakin knew how to fight against such an opponent.

“Say you’re sorry,” he ordered through gritted teeth.

“Why would I?” Duma challenged, pushing more pressure into his blocked sword. But Anakin did not seem to budge. His posture balanced out the applied force.

“What’s going on?” Obi Wan ordered.

“He dared to insult Padme,” Anakin yelled. Not allowing himself to be distracted for a second.

“She made you weak, Skywalker. You could have become so great,” Duma towered over him.

Poe heaved a sigh, he was sick of Peniel's crazy obsession.Of course, Duma would be into that. He, Iofiel, Lahabiel and Kabshiel were Peniel’s most devoted students, they worshipped the ground their leader stood on. Of course his obsession with Anakin would serve as fuel for his students.

Even now, they were chasing after an idea.

A fantasy.

They forged themselves into what Peniel wanted. Not what he needed.

“You could had followed our teacher and yet you followed that woman,” Duma continued his taunts. “Skywalker, you could had been feared, a respected fighter. It’s not too late, leave her. Return to our teacher.”

Making the man fall flat on the floor, Anakin stood tall over him. “He wanted a weapon, a soldier. I am neither of those things”

“Ani,” Padme and Hamaliel arrived just in time to see the knock down.

“At least, it wasn’t me who caused trouble this time,” Hamaliel smirked at him, then at Obi Wan, who was mixed between laughing and crying.

“It’s over, Padme,” Anakin’s sword disappeared as he stepped away from Duma.

“Nicely done, Anakin,” Poe patted him on the shoulder as he passed by. But Poe kept his eyes on their former teacher.

Peniel’s face turned sour as he watched his prized student once again return to Ambriel’s side.

“Again,” Duma crawled up from the floor.

“If you want to be defeated again, then bring it on,” Anakin threw him a dirty look.

“You are disgraceful,” Duma scowled but Peniel stopped him.

“Duma, enough. You have brought enough shame upon yourself. After all the years, you have yet to be better than Anakin Skywalker.”

“Teacher,” Duma walked back, head bowed, showing humiliation at his performance for his leader. He thought he had it.

He once again disappointed his leader.

The embarrassment was shared by the other three.

“Enough, Peniel” Anakin defiantly looked at his former teacher. “Stop comparing your students to me”

“But you are my student as well, Skywalker,” Peniel returned his gaze.

Anakin stopped him. “I was, but I am no more. I haven’t been your student for a long, long time, Peniel.”

Peniel was enraged despite not showed it on the outside, but Rey could just feel the electrified airs intensely that was coming from Peniel.

The four students shivered behind him, while Anakin did not cower at all. He stood tall and proudly, facing at Peniel.

“We’re leaving,” Peniel ordered as he walked away, his guards followed behind. The group of five disappeared from view.

“You are not supposed to cause more trouble,” Obi Wan looked at him.

Anakin sheepishly blinked, “But Kenobi, that guy insulted Padme. I can’t let him just insult her like that. He did not know her at all so he had no right to trash her reputation. Besides, they would have been been at my throat the moment they arrived here anyway. Peniel filled their heads with all the crap about me. One of them would have made a move sooner or later. I just taught them a lesson.”

“But this is not the time. Peniel knows something about this secret location of Saniel that Azrael mentioned. We need him to share the information.”

“Why couldn’t we just ask Ariel? She's his wife, so she might know." Rey asked.

“I already tried,” Padme explained. “But there is information that Peniel hasn't even shared with Ariel. The location where he got that scar was one of them. Only Peniel knows where it is, he never told anyone about the place where it marked his weakness.”

“The general idea that it was in a forest but that’s all we know,” Obi Wan said.

“And do you think that it’s important lead for the death of Saniel?” Finn intrigued.

“Yes,” Obi Wan nodded. “According to Azrael, if Saniel had successfully discovered that place then it would be his secret hideout. Saniel must have been there a lot of time before. But I believe that our killer was also there and Saniel was unlucky to run into him.”

Rey, Poe and Fill were shocked at the revelation; they all stared at Obi Wan as if he just grown another head.

“What?”

“How?”

Questions were overlapped with one another before Obi Wan signaled for them to stop.

“A Great Deimos was once said to reside in the land, wherever that may be. The being poisoned the soils, plants, life and the water of that place. It only stopped when Peniel defeated him. He paid the price of bearing that scar for a moment of weakness when the Deimos turned into a young child to tricked him. But even Peniel had successfully defeated the creature, it’s believed that a large sinister power was still hidden there somewhere.”

“And I speculated that since our suspect is also a Great Deimos then he would search for that power for his own means. And Saniel was the unfortunate victim when he stumbled upon the scene.”

“So we have an important mission- to find out the location of that place,” concluded Poe, “That will be hard. Peniel won’t give up the information that easy”

“He never does,” Anakin mocked.

“Obi Wan!” they turned to see Ariel run towards them.

“Ariel, what’s happened? Is it about Rachiel?” Obi Wan worried. He really did not want more trouble right now. He had his hands full already.

“No, Rachiel is fine. She is with Samuel and Zachariel,” Ariel shook her head. “This is about Peniel.”

“What’s with him now?" He prayed that there wasn't another dilemma.

“He’s gone. He and his guards left,", Ariel said. “I tried to convince him otherwise, I begged him to stay here and formed an alliance with you guys, but he did not listen. He insisted that he will be the one who handle this. Peniel and the four guards then teleported away.”

Obi Wan rubbed his forehead, surely such things were bound to happen. Why had he expected otherwise?

“Great. Just great,” Poe squealed, leaning on Finn.

Anakin slammed his fist against the wall, which earned him a scolding from Padme about having caused enough damage to the structure.

Rey just wanted to laugh at how ironic the event turned out.

_Weep not poor children, for life is this way._

__

_Murdering beauty and passion._

__

_Come Little Children, I’ll take thee away._

__

_Into a land of enchantment._

__

_Come Little Children, the time’s come to play._

__

_Here in my garden of shadows._


	12. Chapter 12

With the departure on Peniel, many were finally able to returned back to their room and the outdoor camping ceased. Raphael’s foul mood was improved a bit but since Poe’s returning to showed up in the place. Raphael disliked that.

That was the only good side of the whole ordeal.

Ariel had to take Rachiel back to their home after she discarded the ashes of her son to the wind on the nearby hill. It was a small event, with only few people presences to paid their regards. Rachiel was a little upset for leaving her friends but Ariel promised the little girl that they will be came back. This appeased the girl and she obedience followed her mother without causing a fuss.

Azrael finally able to leave his room, he was never being so graceful. Azrael celebrated the new-found freedom by went back to visited his parents and to checked on his own home since he never got the chance until now.

Meanwhile, Obi Wan, Anakin and Hamaliel were working themselves to death in order to locate Peniel but it seemed like he had blocked them. Every method yielded negative results and so his whereabouts remained a mystery.

Even when Obi Wan called for help from the other Head of the Houses from different countries for the search for Peniel. All met with a dead end.

It seemed that when Peniel wanted to disappear, he really knew how to erase his existence from the surface of the earth.

Padme had the duty to stop them from dropping dead from exhaustion as the three literally buried themselves in a sea of books and papers.

It was a race against time in the search for the group of five skillful guards.

_Let my feast begin._

_The dance in blood._

Rey and Finn decided that it was best for them to help Padme, they sometimes even cooked the meals for everyone. Poe was drafted into helping the trio in the hunt for a way.

The tension may have lifted but it was replaced with a sense of urgency. Peniel was thinking ahead of himself with no particular plan upon the time he left. And having no idea who or what they were dealing with and Peniel’s action did not help at all.

“Is there any new development?” Rey questioned when Finn returned from delivering the food to the group.

“No, but they are losing their minds with all those stacks of books,” Finn sat down beside her. Rey offered him a box of macaroons, a gift from Padme. “Those books are thicker than an encyclopedia”

“Well, Peniel had found a way to bypass any known magics that would reveal his location so it forced them to look deeper, for a forgotten ancient power to do the job.”

“It’s not effective in my opinion,” Finn stuffed the macaroons in his mouth, “Peniel clearly knew what he was doing.”

“True,” Rey shrugged. “But this is better than doing nothing”

“But how did he do it? How is is possible that no one can find Peniel?” Finn wondered.

“I may have the answer for that.” The two saw Padme lingering by the entrance. Without the makeup she put on for public appearance, Padme looked like she needed to go on a well-deserved vacation where she could relax and enjoy herself, instead of all the stress that weighed on her shoulders right now. 

Padme took a seat opposite to Rey and Finn, happily accepting the dessert from Finn.

“What do you mean by that, Padme?” Her words caught Rey’s curiosity.

“After years of battle, Peniel has a few tricks up his sleeves,” Padme enlightened Rey’s inquisitiveness, “Albeit not quite accepted by our common laws, but Peniel never let that deter him or he would just ignore the laws in general.”

“Are you saying that Peniel’s using demonic magic?” Finn jumped out of his seat, horrified.  
Rey had to push him back, “Calm down, Finn. Let her explain.”

Padme grinned, “The answer for that would be yes and no. You see, there is an undeniable fact that Ángelos and Deimos used to share the same root of their powers. But after their rebellion, the core magic of the Deimos became tainted as they went down a darker path. Instead of Light, they started to worship the Darkness. They replaced Life with Death, Blood and Destruction. But even so, there is still a similarity between the two."

“Peniel used this knowledge to his advantage. Yes, some of his spells could be considered demonic but he modified the spell so it could be used by an Angelos instead. Not to mention, he was also known to combine the two powers together to form new spells that no one ever see. That is one of the reason why he is one of our top guardians and also why Obi Wan is having hard time finding him.”

“Is that allowed anyway? I mean, I don’t think the Council would be happy about that. Peniel’s position as the Leader Guardian is right below the Council. Surely, they could do something about it, Rey mumbled.

“Well, Raphael did not like what Peniel did, he was rather vocal about the problem,” Padme nodded, “Letting yourself be lured into temptation is considered taboo among our community. But since being the Guardians is a dangerous road, many would do anything to survive and keep their team safe. So what Peniel did tended to be ignored because he did it to protect his team”

“Also let's not forget, he was a respected member so no one really opposed him”

“Sound unfair”, Finn pounded, “I mean, his ideology and training is so extreme. Anakin and Poe are two testaments for that. Someone should have stepped in, maybe then he would not be so confident that he will always get what he wants.”

“Things don’t always go your way but you have to accept that and carry one. The world does not revolve around him alone but many more beside him.”

“Wisely said Finn, I agree with you,” Padme heaved, “Someone should have stepped in.”

Day followed by day and yet, no solution was given and the whereabouts of Peniel alongside his four guards remained hidden.

Everyone was being pushed to their limits, frustrated and exhausted.

“You sound like you might need some help, brother. I wish I was there to help but it would have to wait until I get back from visiting my parents,” Anakin was on the phone while lying in the cushion.

He had just eaten a proper meal before that, instead of noodles or energy drinks. So what better way to spend this free time than calling his twin.

After a while, Padme made them all rest and no one dared to go against a serious looking Amidala. She was a formidable force to be reckoned with.

Obi Wan and Hamaliel were asleep in their respective room, after being threatened to do it voluntarily or Padme would gladly asked Raphael for some strong sleeping pills that would definitely knock them off their feet.

The two of them could not look more like zombies if they tried.

Padme used the blessed time to get some rest herself, an undisturbed and worry-free sleep. Something they desperately needed right now.

Azrael was currently staying with his parents across town on his mother’s request. A way to guilt-trip him for not calling them for the past few weeks. He was forced to claim it was due to a reunion with friends and working overtime.

He couldn't tell him that he was an angel without sounding insane. To his parents, he is Ben Organa Solo.

Their son.

Anakin was happy that Azrael had been able to be raised in such loving family where his parents were clearly worried about his health and safety. Not many people have that privilege; many have gone through series of struggles; being beaten to the ground before being able to rise up.

As Azrael heard about the situation regarding Peniel, he called in to talk with Anakin because he was concerned about his health, as Padme described how Anakin and the others spent day after day, night after night, researching without rest. Azrael was alarmed about how Anakin pushed his body’s limits to the breaking point.

“This is helpless. We look and look. And nothing,” Anakin grunted, hand on his face.

“Heh, there must be something useful in there,” Azrael encouraged.

“Try to be in my shoes, Azrael. I don’t think I want to read any more books for a while.”

Azrael chuckled through the speaker.

“Understandable, I told you that spending a large amount of time studying is super unhealthy for everyone. Even for us, there has to be a limit where you need to stop and breathe. Or else, you will be working yourself to death.”

Anakin grumbled as he adjusted on the couch. Thankfully the thing was large enough to accommodate his height without making him uncomfortable with dangling legs in the open air.

“I’m pretty sure that Padme made a right decision by making Obi Wan and Hamaliel go to sleep, or else they would have had a meltdown by now.”

“And I will be affected as well,” he complained.

“Try to relax, brother.” Azrael laughed. “You sound like you are already on the path to a meltdown before Obi Wan and Hamaliel.”

“Am not,” countered Anakin.

“You are,” sang Azrael.

“Am not.”

“You are, brother. You are.”

“You are mean, Azrael,” whined Anakin. “I feel like you are laughing at my pain”

“Am I now?” Without seeing his brother, Anakin could have sworn that Azrael was smirking at him.

“Mean,” hissed Anakin.

“Right, right.”

“Anyway, how’s your parents?”

Azrael sighed, “I miss them just as much as they miss me. Mother cooked home-made foods for dinner and father let me drive his car around the town with him

“Sound good”

“Yeah, I always have a close bond with my parents before…regaining my true self. Staying with them now kind of making me reminiscent of the old days”

“Be graceful for it then”, at this point Anakin was half asleep, “Not all of us are that lucky when it comes to parents. Hamaliel have not meet her for years. The last time I checked, one of them were in a mental hospital.”

“Oh, I know”

Ever since Hamaliel ran away from the place she used to call home. She never looked back, or wondered her parents. For all she cares, her father and mother were long dead the moment they tried to end their daughter’s life. Hamaliel died that day to be reborn into the person she is now.

If Anakin did not stumble upon her all those years ago on that pouring street at night, where a young Hamaliel intended to steal from a man nearby for some money. She was a street kid who wandered the streets for some scraps to feed her hungry stomach. It was luck that brought her to his path so he could bring her out of the life she was living. Even though it meant he had to use some muscles, Hamaliel was and still is a stubborn kid. Anakin still victoriously brought her back to the House.

If not, he was afraid that Hamaliel could have turned into a more bitter person. She would almost be a second Peniel by then. While Anakin trusted that she wouldn't be as extreme as his former teacher, that didn't mean Hamaliel wouldn't act in her own way. The idea made Anakin tremble. It wasn't something he wanted to think about.

Sometimes, Anakin had to wonder why some of the Angelos were born into imperfection and loveless situations. Hamaliel’s parents were an example, and Raphael's human parents were another. They didn't harm Raphael, but they didn't care about him at all. What’s important to them were those aristocrat parties with people who shared their view. Raphael hadn’t visited them since he left. Some kind of test, perhaps? That what Raphael seemed to believe in.

Whenever someone mentioned his family, Raphael either scoffed and let it pass by like nothing or he made the person who asked the question pay dearly, which was not a good thing considering that he was the head of the healer teams in the whole area.

Anakin dryly chuckled at the common theme of tragic pasts. Obi Wan had tried to improve the situation by putting the secret intelligence network out to be their eyes and ears. Those people could be doctors like Poe and Raphael, or teachers, bakers, police officers such as Sablo and his men. Nurses, pilots or political figures like Padme.

The point was, they could be anyone and everyone among the public. Actively searching and looking out for children, people like them. They could be lifesavers for people trapped in a bad situation.

They did this in order to prevent history from repeating itself, Obi Wan once explained. He did not want to see situations like those of Hamaliel and Raphael occur again. What if no one came to save them in time? Those people would be lost in this life.

Obi Wan didn’t want another child to be trained into a mindless soldier just like what Peniel tried to do with Anakin. The training camp had become the only place for Anakin and nowhere else.

He thought about his aunt.

The one who nurtured his young mind and shaped his personality.

Anakin never knew about who his parents were, he never cared anyway. He was only grateful that they decided to give birth to him and allowed him this life.

His one and only family was his aunt.

Bless that lovely woman, he remembered the warm smell of freshly baked cake in the kitchen. He used to live in this small house in a poorer neighborhood in his younger years, they did not have much but the place was his heaven.

His aunt, the middle aged lady with a head full of gray hairs, yet her spirit was still so youthful. It could be seen in her eyes, her smile and her nonstop working without much rest or a complaint. She was the one who took care of him as an infant after his father left for another woman and his mother married a richer man with status. She protected him from all harm since they lived in a dangerous area. The only reason why they stayed there was because the price was cheap and affordable.

His birth mother had disowned her own blood sister after the marriage. Her new husband did not want to get himself involved with people of a lower status. Anakin believed the correct term was “ those dirty beggars”.

His aunt, she was all he had.

A retired freelance photographer who used to travel the world in her prime. The reason why he chose to do what he’s doing now, as a way to honor her. This way he could go to all of the places she had gone to and even go beyond. 

He was five when he became to awoken to his powers and knowledge that no five-year-old could possibly comprehend. Of course, he did not tell her any of that. And their humble life went on normally.

But it all came to an end, like every story.

How ironically that Peniel arrived just after they found out that she was hit by a drunk driver, sadly the police never caught the man. Even though three days later, Anakin heard about a rumor of a discovered man’s body from the river, there were deep cut around his body.

At that time, Anakin knew that her life was fleeting away. She must have felt it too, that why she complied when the well-dressed Peniel walked in to their hospital room. Claiming to be a widower who heard about the tragic news from a newspaper, he promised how he would take great care of the young Skywalker if she allowed him to be Anakin’s guardian.

His poor aunt did actually believe in his sweet words, for her time was numbered, she quickly accepted. The process went insanely quick. Must be because Peniel pulled all the strings he has in his hands.

Anakin surprised that Peniel didn’t used his influence on her. If he did, the whole things would be much quicker but for some reason, Peniel choose to used his persuasive words instead. He suspected that because Peniel saw no reason to used his power on a dying mortal. It was not worth it.

His aunt soon after succumbed to her injuries. She passed away at midnight, when he was fast asleep. It was a regret to this day that Anakin didn’t have the chance to be with her one last time. Peniel paid for all the expenses on the funeral, many of the people in the community were jealous of him. They thought that he was going to have a better life than those who struggled at the bottom of the society.

Anakin disagreed.

He never trusted Peniel. He only owed the man for what he did for his aunt before her death, regardless if it was only an act or not.

He owed Peniel that, so he stayed in that secluded training camp deep in a forest for eleven years. During those times, Anakin strived to be a natural-born talent in Peniel’s eyes. Expectations started to piled up and he learned he had to become the apprentice of Peniel. But that was not what Anakin wanted, that not what he planned.

Eleven years was the price to be paid and then he would leave.

He did not want a life of killing and blood, what he wanted was the freedom shown in those old photos his aunt used to show him about all the wonders she witnessed. Those priceless photos that Peniel burned right before his eyes for Peniel deemed them as an unnecessary distraction to his training.

Anakin did not trust Peniel. And he also did not like the man either, after what he did.

It may come at a shock to others, but not to him. Anakin knew what he was doing when he decided to leave Peniel and his camp behind and moved forward.

The debt had been paid in full, there was no reason for Anakin to keep wearing the chains around his body, the cage of his soul.

He broke them. He broke free.

He also decided to leave because he met the love of his life. The one and only Padme Amidala. Their relationship started when they met as a child. Anakin had gone with Peniel to a meeting with Obi Wan in this very House. There a young Padme arrived with her guards, a security measure from her doting father. Somehow, the man knew about their secret society, but didn't have a problem with it. He even offered his help if needed.

Anakin was awestruck, Padme was his angel, the most beautiful person he had ever seen. They secretly wrote to each other ever since without Peniel ever becoming aware of it. A miracle.

She always been there for him, his best friend and his greatest love. That why when he decided to leave, he knew exactly where he want to be. He returned to Padme, he returned to his soulmate, the one who carried half of his soul.

Obi Wan and her father then enrolled him into those top school for education, the best one that money could buy. The two men immediately had a wardrobe cleansing when they found out that all the clothes he owned during that times, were pairs of old training suits, some worn-out white shirt and black pants that had seen a better day.

With all the crawling, climbing and fighting, Anakin actually proud that he kept his belongings in a much better condition than lot of people. 

He had to spent a whole week to renew his clothes and other personnel needed in a team consisted of Padme, her father and Obi Wan as they went from store to store. He almost faint back then when he caught a glimpse on one of the price tag but obi Wan assured him that it was nothing compared to their collective wealth that has been built up since years back.

Her father practically adopted him, for a third time Anakin had a new family. The first was a precious place in his heart that could not be replaced since it was what made him who he is now. The second family was a necessary evil, a trial he must endure. The third and last one was where he finally has a place to belonged.

Anakin’s life really turned into a new chapter since then, he finally able to chased after what his dream. He learned to become a renowned photographer. He was able to travelled after his aunt, his pictures were featured in various well-known magazine. He even has his photos in any art gallery worldwide, with people willing to paid a fortune for one of his picture.

He became a rising star. A new wind. An inspiration.

It was then when Padme followed her father’s footstep into the turmoil sea known as politics. People was underestimated her at first, some thinks that she will be in her father’s shadow. Those people soon ate their own words, Padme proven them wrong by surpassed everyone before her.

Anakin was happy for her, he always known about the fire burning inside her. It was a phoenix ready to conquer.

This was his life.

The life he ever wanted, if only his aunt could see him now.

Anakin wondered if he will be meet her again in heaven when the time arrive for him to return?

He hoped that she would be proud of him.

And forgave him for what he did wrong.

After a long time, his birth parents decided to showed their face in front of him again.

A man who worked in a factory and lived in an apartment with his lover and a self-centered woman with a husband much older than her. It was during the time when he had yet to move to the House, back then he was staying in a penthouse in downtown of the city.

The location was meant to be private and a secret. And yet, somehow, somehow, they got the address and decided to show up in front of his door in one afternoon while he was looking through a series of photos scattered on the floor.

Anakin was not surprised one bit. A part of him already predict this outcome when he first got his fame.

Oh no, he was furious.

Oh, so furious to see those faces in front of him, begging for the money he earned. At least that what his father said, went straight to the problem. His mother on the other hand dared to claimed how she missed him and how heartbroken she was when she left him.

He gave them both the scariest glared, let his powers leaking out just enough to sent shivered to their spine much to his pleasure.

His foolish father had the gut to tried to bashed in when he about to closed the door, on reflect Anakin grabbed the man by the neck with enough force to stunned him. He was struggle in vain while fear in his eyes, Anakin tossed him flied through the entire hallway, pretty sure he had broken some bones with that impact but at that time, Anakin couldn’t care less.

Then he turned to the pale face birth mother and processed to yelled at them for an hour straight before warned them not to appeared before him ever again. That he knows people in higher position that could made their life absolute miserable and he could made her dear old husband loses all his fortune in a night in a night with just a simple phone call.

The woman was clearly shaken as she ran away, his father limping behind her. He shut the door and called Padme afterward, when his anger subsided and all he felt was emptiness. Padme calmly soothed him through the phone and reassured that what he did not made him a bad person. It was just his pent-up emotions throughout the years.

It was one of the few times that he cried, one during his aunt funeral, one in the dead of night in the training camp of Peniel and one in that night. Padme was with him through the meltdown, she even arrived later and the two shared ice creams together while snuggled on the couch watching some cheesy romance.

After that, he did never saw his father again. But during a party by a close association of his and Padme in Germany, he did saw his mother and her husband, the two cowered under his started. But Padme quickly pulled him away and he did not see them again throughout the night.

Later on, Obi Wan revealed to Anakin that Anakin didn’t need to pick up the phone. For Padme had told him and her father and the two conspired together and made some quick phone calls to certain friends of theirs. Anakin was thankful that he was able to have these people he called family in his life.

“Camael. Brother, are you still there?”, Azrael’s voice snapped him out of the thoughts.

“Sorry, my mind just wandering a bit there”, excused Anakin.

On the other side, the rich voice of Azrael could be heard laughing.

“You should get some sleep now, Camael”, he said, “You are falling asleep on me”

“Fine”, said Anakin, “Anyway, have a nice time with your parents”

“Oh, I will”, Azrael promised, “I will”

“Good bye”, Anakin turned off his phone and put the device on the table nearby before his eyes closed and breath even. The silence engulfed the place and every corner, as if the shimmering silhouette of Morpheus swept through the place.


End file.
